Lianne La Havas - Blood Album Review

Since Lianne La Havas released her 2012 debut album 'Is Your Love Big Enough?', she has been busy touring (including a set at Glastonbury earlier this year) but now she's back with her second album 'Blood'.

'Blood' album artwork

It's clear that La Havas is approaching her songwriting with more soul and RnB influences in mind, compared to the mainly indie-rock vibe of her previous album. The jazzy, old-school vocals are still forever making her a unique artist but the mix of indie and RnB makes her stand out more than ever.

Being the first single released from the LP, 'Unstoppable' has an infectious mellow groove with an uplifting chorus. The video is also approached in a different style for La Havas as it follows her dancing and singing freely, mimicking the theme of the song and feeling "unstoppable".

La Havas worked alongside a range of producers on this album such as Paul Epworth (produced artists such as Adele, Coldplay and U2) and Mark Batson, saying she "has been a fan of their work growing up". She explains that the process of making this album was "completely different" compared to the more traditional approach on her last album, in which she mainly worked with her own ideas and one producer.



The exploration and experimenting with new sounds and styles for 'Blood' has certainly paid off. With the more downbeat tracks like "Ghost", compared to the funk and soul driven numbers such as "Midnight" and "What You Don't Do", the variety of genres and class vocals make this album a winner.

Download "Blood" now on iTunes 

Hannah Jolley

Foals - Mountain at My Gates Single Review

The anticipation and excitement around Foals releasing new material after the success of their previous album 'Holy Fire' (2013) is finally over. 'Mountain At My Gates', the second single taken from their forthcoming album 'What Went Down' (due for release on 28th of August) and was well worth the wait. First premiered on the 20th of July on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show, the single is not only filled with all the recognisable Foals qualities; the hooking guitar riffs, roaring vocals from Yannis Philippakis and pounding bass lines but the video is also something to be excited about. Directed by Nabil who also did the videos for tracks 'Late Night' and 'Bad Habit' from their previous album, this is the first to be filmed with GoPro's spherical virtual reality technology, and makes the single both a striking visual and auditory experience.

Check the video out below:

             

Although not as fierce as the first single 'What Went Down', we are still exposed to the band's intense and distinctive style. Like most of their songs, this new track builds up to eventually crescendo with a chaotic vocal, heavy drum fuelled fusion. Frontman Philippakis is said to have been inspired by themes such as "cultural identity, generational anxiety, cynicism, pessimism and heartbreak" for the LP. He also said he wanted to engage with his "inner madman" and to feel like he was "channeling some sort of fevered creature". If the exhilarating outro of this track is anything to go by, he certainly achieved his goal.

Preorder Foals' upcoming album 'What Went Down' here.

Hannah Jolley