[TR24][OF] Lianne La Havas - Blood - (Official Digital Download) 2015 (R&B)

Lianne La Havas - vocals, guitar
Production:
Producer: Paul Epworth

Blood is Lianne La Havas's new album released on Nonesuch Records. La Havas's 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was "wonderfully refreshing," says NPR's Tom Moon. And on the new album, she's created songs like the single "What You Don't Do," which features "the kind of stunning, kinetic performance we rarely hear on the radio these days."
Blood showcases an eclectic range of songs, providing a "dramatic contrast" from song to song. Its "transitions lend unexpected dimension to La Havas' writing—they make the songs, which survey romantic relationships in various states of messiness, feel epic even though most just last around four minutes," Moon concludes. "It's unusual to encounter such roller-coastering mood swings—the becalmed poise of Minnie Ripperton giving way to the fulminating power of Nina Simone—in this realm, where digital perfection is the norm and the peaks and spikes get smoothed over. It's even more unusual to hear a singer so confident in her ability to bring the extremes (particularly the quiet ones) across so vividly."
The album was inspired by La Havas's Jamaican and Greek family heritage. When touring for Is Your Love Big Enough? came to a close, La Havas headed to Jamaica with her mother for a long-awaited holiday that evolved into an experience of self-discovery. She enjoyed emotional reunions with long-lost relatives; embraced Kingston's clubs; and even jammed in front of her family for the first time during a session with legendary dancehall/reggae producer Stephen McGregor. Exploring her roots inspired La Havas's writing. Lyrically, she says, the songs she wrote are almost all related to "the feeling of who you are and where you come from." And musically, La Havas took inspiration from Jamaica's love of grooves, rhythms, and syncopation.