Paloma and Prince have spotted a star
LIANNE LA HAVAS: Blood (Warner Bros.) Verdict: Prince protegee ups her game FRANK TURNER: Positive Songs For Negative People (Xtra Mile) Verdict: Plenty of plus points
NOT EVERY aspiring artist can boast that a superstar like Prince once gave a press conference i n their tiny London flat. But Lianne La Havas has been impressing influential people for quite a while.
Mentored by Paloma Faith, for whom she sang backing vocals, the soulful La Havas sadly failed to capitalise on the goodwill generated by her jazzy debut album three years ago.
But at 25 she is older, wiser and — on the evidence of her second album — ready for a serious shot at fame. Marrying the smoky vocals of old with a more forceful sense of swing, she comes across as sassy and assured.
Blood begins well. Based on a piece by UK funk trio The invisible, Unstoppable lies closer to the modern soul of Erykah Badu than the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald, while the autobiographical Green & Gold, inspired by a family trip to the west indies, delves i nto La Havas’s half- Greek, half-Jamaican heritage.
The grooves get more interesting on what You Don’t Do, a hippy- soul number that steals its best moves from Sly & The Family Stone’s Hot Fun in The Summertime.
La Havas’s restless spirit eventually gets the better of her. The singer’s attempts to incorporate electronic elements are flawed, and never Get Enough is a disconcerting bossa nova with discordant guitars. But when she keeps it soulful, she has all the makings of a new star.
IT WAS music of a heavier kind that i nfluenced a young Frank Turner.
He was such a dedicated heavy-metal fan that he didn’t hesitate in picking ir o n Maiden as his specialist subject when he went on BBC’s celebrity Mastermind last year. THE Eton-educated singer from Hampshire did well , too, winning the contest and raising funds for the homeless charity Shelter.
while a fondness for wailing guitars remains, he hasn’t looked back since he picked up an acoustic instrument after hearing Bruce Springsteen’s nebraska ten years ago.
He has played the opening ceremony of the 2012 London olympics, sold out wembley Arena and paved the way for Ed Sheeran and others.
now, with this sixth album, the 33-year-old has delivered what he calls his ‘definitive statement’.
Positive Songs For negative People takes up from where 2013’s excellent Tape Deck Heart left off. it broadens the sound by adding mandolin and female vocals, but is essentially a snappy affair that tempers introspection with rabble-rousing bravado.
recorded quickly in nashville with Taylor Swift’s producer, Butch walker, the singer strives to recapture the energy of a live show. ‘Bands often lose their freshness, but i wanted to try for that young, exciting feel,’ he says.
The album rattles along, with Get Better, Demons and out of Breath all nodding to punk as much as folk. Even the tracks with fuller arrangements — the Stones-like Glorious You, The next Storm and the touching Silent Key — bristle with raw intent.
Turner is also effective when he slows things down. The Angel islington is his attempt to move on from the romantic disappointment that fuelled Tape Deck Heart. Song For Josh, cut live in washington Dc, is a eulogy to a late friend.
in combining the immediacy of punk with the intimacy of folk, the former head-banger proves he can mix and match with heartfelt aplomb.
ADRIAN THRILLS