It’s fascinating what a change of geographical location can do for a musician. For her 13th solo album, r’n’b queenpin Blige moved to London, listened to the sound of the streets and worked with a bunch of new UK acts.
The result is an album of bold, expressive and occasionally downright exciting tracks, with Blige clearly digging what the likes of Disclosure, Emeli Sandé, Sam Smith and Naughty Boy add to her sound. Tracks like Therapy and Doubt, for instance, allow her to turn up the gospel and doo-wop textures in that fantastic voice of hers.
On the other hand, Right Now, with Sam Smith and Disclosure providing the musical scaffolding, and My Loving are lusty and full-bodied dancefloor champions, full of great hooks and dashing vigour. Blige obviously found the new London setting very much to her liking.
