Oh but I can be a shellfish mademoiselle - you gave me the name, I'm wearing it well
Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Best Albums of 2020 list...
#12 : Ungodly Hour - Chloe x Halle
Shedding the careful precocity of their debut, the Bailey sisters’ second album skipped the traditionally salacious we’re-grown-now stage of pop evolution to paint in complex emotional shades. While they hark back to the heyday of Destiny’s Child with Busy Boy – their heavenly vocal harmonies heavy with knowing as they catch a guy plying several women with his trade – there’s also the striking Wonder What She Thinks of Me, a pained dispatch from the other woman who longs to be the only woman. A mix of innocence and sophistication distinguishes this R&B gem, their vocal rhapsodies catching on coy bass lines and barbed percussion.
I was vaguely aware of Chloe x Halle - but this was mostly around the most ridiculous fuss about Halle playing Ariel ("Mermaids CANNOT be black!" "Dude, you do realise they don't actually exist?!?") and even then I initially thought they were talking about Halle Berry (which I agree would be questionable casting). I suspect I must have heard some of their stuff but couldn't claim to have been able to pick it out from a generic R&B line up, so was coming to this with low expectations...
...but it's ace. I can't claim to be an expert on the genre but I really enjoyed this - it's a strong collection of songs, well delivered with some excellent harmonies along the way. It does indeed hark back to Destiny's Child in places, but that's not exactly criticism now, is it? And in other places, it strays into Ariana Grande territory but I'm sure they can live with that as a comment as well.
Again, I can't claim to be an expert but I do tend to find female-lead R&B to be slightly less obsessed with sex (OK - except you, Ariana) and drugs and there's definite signs of intelligence here - it sounds impressively mature for a couple of ladies in their early twenties (although they have, of course, been making music online almost since they were born). They also write and produce most of it themselves - they're no slouches musically! "Customers also listened to" a load of people who I've never heard of - and I suspect they'll stay that way, but I can actually see me listening to this album again (which wasn't at all what I was expecting)
#11 : Róisín Machine - Róisín Murphy
A voracious hunger seethes through Murphy’s most club-facing record. She yearns for something more, feels frustrated by a lover who’d rather microdose than indulge – plus she knows that even desire fulfilled simply seeds more desire: “There’s nothing left for us to gain,” she cries against the chill wind of Kingdom of Ends, the nihilistic second track. And so Róisín Machine turns the thrill of the chase into a generator for self-sufficiency. It takes a good 20 minutes to offer its first bout of release (the flirtatious boogie of Shellfish Mademoiselle), priming the pumps for Murphy to enter her formidable euphoric stride: industrial funk trailing seedy lounge fantasies, pizzicato strings and screaming disco house. The stakes become entirely her own.
I've like Roisin's voice since the Moloko days (which was around the turn of the century!) and I particularly liked her debut solo album Ruby Blue (from 2005) - it had a pleasing degree of quirk to it. I have to admit to having lost touch in the intervening years though, so was looking forward to listening to this.
And it was nice to be back in touch - I'd say she's dialled back the quirk and turned up the commercial but it's still pleasingly Róisínish (which is totally a word). It's hard to describe but another word I'd use is "lush" - it's just lovely to let it swirl around you (it sounds very good through headphones). Some of it sounds like top-quality Pet Shop Boys (and I totally mean that as a compliment) with her voice having, if anything, improved over the years.
Wikipedia has very little to say about the album, but the entry for her is more lengthy and worth a read - she's done some interesting stuff over the years. "Customers also listened to" and I quote directly from Amazon Music "no similar recommendations" which seems mad - at the very least just listen to some Moloko albums, people! And as previously mentioned, Jessie Ware (here) isn't a million miles away and similarly enjoyable. We're on a good run here and this is another thoroughly good album to maintain that run. It has a perfectly horrible album cover though!
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