Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, is out now. "The album demands, and rewards, all the attention you can give it," raves Rolling Stone. "[W]hat comes across first is the sheer grace of her voice," says the New York Times. "La Havas remains confident and strong to the core in her new music," says NPR, "a powerhouse with a full heart, creating music that's sweeping, inspiring and downright fun." "Blood cuts straight to the heart," says The Daily Beast, "a seductive blend of poetic lyricism, sultry vocals, and strong yet understated musicianship." Pitchfork calls it "an almost seamless album." It's "nearly flawless," raves PopMatters. "The steps forward here are borderline transcendent."
Today marks the release of English singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, on Nonesuch / Warner Bros. Records. "The album demands, and rewards, all the attention you can give it," raves Rolling Stone. To pick up a copy now, head to your local music shop, iTunes, Amazon, or the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a download of the complete album at checkout and the digital album is also available to purchase. The digital album is also included with tickets to see La Havas on her fall North American tour; for tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
"[W]hat comes across first is the sheer grace of her voice," says the New York Times music critic Jon Pareles in his review of La Havas's recent show in New York City. "It can be a breathy purr, a lilting tease, a liquid confession or a torchy declaration ... She was already distinctive on her 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, which fused neo-soul, folk and jazz in songs built around her briskly syncopated guitar playing, often juggling three-against-two patterns behind supple tunes ... Her music pushes further in the songs on Blood."
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 and moods, and it's "unusual to hear a singer so confident in her ability to bring the extremes (particularly the quiet ones) across so vividly."
In selecting "What You Don’t Do" for NPR's Heavy Rotation, the monthly list of Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing, KCRW's Anne Litt says "the uplifting, soulful pop" of the song makes it "a sunny standout from her second album, Blood." Litt goes on to say: "La Havas remains confident and strong to the core in her new music. In this song, she's glowing, her voice as rich as ever. As the song builds to a hands-in-the-air crescendo singalong, there's no doubt that Lianne La Havas is a powerhouse with a full heart, creating music that's sweeping, inspiring and downright fun." Read more at npr.org.
"Blood cuts straight to the heart, a seductive blend of poetic lyricism, sultry vocals, and strong yet understated musicianship," says The Daily Beast's James Joiner of the new album. La Havas recently performed the album's opening track, "Unstoppable," for the site; you can watch it at thedailybeast.com.
"Where La Havas’s debut was an introduction and a glimmer of promise, its follow-up, Blood, is a statement of purpose and self-discovery," says Boston Globe's James Reed. Musically, La Havas took inspiration from her mother's homeland, Jamaica, and its love of grooves, rhythms, and syncopation. "The island's rhythmic pleasures permeate Blood, her most sonically diverse effort yet, pulsating with electronic flourishes that create a fascinating tension against the serene elegance of her voice. Nearly every song starts in a state of euphoria open to possibility." Blood, Reed concludes, is "a beautiful album that builds on the buzz of her first one." Read the full review at bostonglobe.com.
"Blood is dynamic and poignantly self-assured in its introspection," says Pitchfork in its 7.7 review of the new album. "Blood is an almost seamless album. Tracks flow into one another with the fluidity and serenity of rain into a freshwater pond—light, refreshing, natural. But there is substance moving here, weight in the currents. La Havas' even, powerful vocals ride syrupy strings with grace and latch onto sharper rhythms with authority. She is deft and adaptive, at once inspiring dancing and melancholy reflection: La Havas is always in motion." Read more at pitchfork.com.
"With her tremendous voice, La Havas drew comparisons to fellow Brit Adele when she released her first album in 2012," says People magazine. "Now she joins Adele in the club of real superstars. Blood ... grooves along on a gorgeous, sinuous production. La Havas hooks a listener on so many levels, Blood can be the soundtrack to any mood, from party to romance."
Is Your Love Big Enough? introduced La Havas "as a songwriting beauty," says PopMatters reviewer Colin McGuire. The new album introduces an artist McGuire refers to as "Ms. Lianne La Havas." "She’s the one at the forefront of the nearly flawless Blood," he explains. "If Is Your Love Big Enough? was designed to get our attention, Blood is designed to keep it. The steps forward here are borderline transcendent for an artist who once appeared to have no problem fading into the back, blending in with the noises and the pain around her. This time around, that artist has taken charge, immersing herself in soul music while staying true to her folk roots. It’s the best kind of rhythm and blues: no reservations, no fear, no bounds, no parameters." Read the full review at popmatters.com.
Consequence of Sound's Sasha Geffen says La Havas "has a penchant for adventure, and her risks pay off here; her talent doesn’t just lie in her ability to hit all the right notes with perfect timbre, but in the way she manages to play off her production and corner her own voice into moments of danger."
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