Neneh Cherry is a Swedish Singer who first got big int he late 80's with her "Raw Like Sushi" album. Now, I wasn't that knowledgeable of her music until recently, but this debut absolutely rules. It blends elements of Pop and R&B with Funk and other genres, throws in some World Music flair and really comes through with a brilliant sound. Some tracks here like "Buffalo Stance" and "Kisses on the Wind" are more straightforward Pop anthems that get you on the floor. But Neneh eas also very conscious with tracks like "Inna City Mamma" and "Love Ghetto". This album seriously rules overall. Neneh returned in 1992 with "Homebrew", which for me wasn't as immediate. But I did enjoy some of the Funk and Pop-Rap tracks on here. There were also some really great features from the likes of Guru and Michael Stipe. But with Neneh's next release "Man", she started adopting this very dreamy, Trip-Hop vibe, which I honestly thought she did so well. She had already had ties with Massive Attack, so this didn't shock me too much. But she blended it so well with World Music that once again I felt like Neneh was bringing in some really interesting vibes to the Pop world. Now, 2014's "Black Project" was an album that I wanted to love. This was Neneh's most eclectic and abrasive album to date, with some seriously far-out production. But while instrumentally this album was a feast. I couldn't help feel like Neneh was at her most reserved. Neneh is back with her first new material in a while, and honestly, these singles are pretty varied. Some are really good, other being average at best. Let's chat!
(A personal favorite of mine!)
This album starts out with “Fallen Leaves”, and honestly, it’s a very cool start. I love the sort of breezy vibe. Four Tet’s Production was very heavily talked about behind this album, and I love how warm it is here honestly. It really works great alongside Neneh’s very smooth, smoky vocals. That, alongside of this undeniable imagery in these lyrics, makes for actually a really cinematic and intriguing intro. Neneh has never considered herself to be a Hip Hop star, and I would say that’s a fair point. But the sort of Jazz Hip Hop influence is very nice, and this is a heartfelt intro from Neneh. On the other hand, “Kong” is a sort of dreamy, dreary Trip-Hop drenched tune with tons of Downtempo elements thrown in. Now, honestly, Four Tet has worked with Neneh before. But this is much more in the style of where I wanted to hear the two working together. It’s a very hypnotic, meditative beat, and I loved how soulful and bruised Neneh comes off here. Like, her vocals are just so bluesy. And while, yes, you can argue that it does seem like Neneh is holding back a little, this very tight, engulfing atmosphere is fantastic. But then we have the “Poem Daddy” interlude, which in a different life could have been really emotional and actually well done. But instead, we get this really weird, Low-Fi spoken word piece that I have to look into way too much. Now, I do have to give “Synchronised Devotion” credit, and this whole album at least to some extent. This is a very chilly, personal album that makes you focus on Neneh so much more than usual. But in moments like this, I just feel like she’s holding back way too much. We get these very visceral, symbolic lyrics here that are filled with imagery. And as far as that goes, this is actually pretty stunning as a spoken word piece. But there is literally nothing else happening here, I personally just need a little more. Give me a beat, give me a dreamy vibe, anything.
But hey, I do like the stripped down and acoustic vibes of “Deep Vein Thrombosis”. It’s simple, but it’s seriously hypnotic and really gets you in the groove. I love just how small her performance is here, it ends up being so quiet and powerful. In times like this Neneh’s performance is brilliant enough to really carry this track without any big beat. The beat is just so breezy and almost World inspired. And of course, her very wordy performances are just so intense. But like, so many tracks on this album just have so little going on instrumentally. Which, in the right sort of environment would be totally fine. But “Faster Than The Truth” is just a freakin’ mess. I don’t mind that Neneh is super into these very hectic, Spoken word performances, that’s fine. But outside of that this track is just so cluttered. This one just ends up blowing right by with no impact. Finally though with “Natural Skin Deep”, we get a little more meat. We’re 7 tracks in, and we’re finally hearing something that’s more than Neneh and a minimal beat. I love the massive beat here and all of the bells and percussion and effects. Once again, it’s pretty cluttered and overwhelming at times. In times like this, Neneh’s very wordy, intense performances are pretty overpowering. And when this one winds down in a more jazzy, laid back track, things only get better. This is a really cool tune, even if it is a little cluttered at moments. But for every track like that, we get a stripped down track that sounds so incredibly empty, like “Shot Gun Shack”. Like, if Neneh wants to work with these beats that are super minimal, that’s fine. But these literally end up sounding like incomplete tracks and let me tell you Four Tet is just so much more than this. I’m sorry, but this just isn’t my cup of tea. And worst of all, I feel like Neneh is holding back.
But like I’ve said, there are moments where the icy cold feel here actually really works well. Like, with “Black Monday”, I get it. The minimal tapping is unbearably tense like I’m almost ready to scream just wanting something to happen. I mean, this is still really bizarre and you have to really tune in in a big way for this one. It’s thinking man's Pop. But I do really love the downtempo beat that you have to be patient with, and Neneh’s very cold quiet performance. Not to mention, it’s just such an eerie, twisted tune that’s so incredibly tense throughout. I’ve got nothing bad to say about this one. But then Neneh continues to really strike out hard with underwhelming interludes like “Cheap Breakfast Special”. They have so much potential, but they’re just so hard to follow. But hey, “Slow Release” has this very mysterious vibe to it that I actually really love. Neneh has subtly brought in a lot of World music influences, here it’s in these woodwinds and percussion, and honestly, it’s really fantastic. There may not be any dreary beat here, but it’s just not necessary here. Not to mention, I absolutely love just how bluesy and souls her vocals are here. It’s just such a haunting track, if we got more sounds like this, this album would have been a knockout. And honestly, “Soldier” is really intriguing. It’s times like this that actually does upset me a little, mostly because let’s be real, Four Tet could have done so much more with the production on this album. When he arrives, it’s huge. But there are times where I feel like he can do more. This is such a breezy instrumental, but it packs so much mystery and punch in it, it’s actually stunning. And then we have Neneh’s performance, which is easily one of her most passionate and powerful of the bunch, which is really saying something. Like, I honestly wish that on other tracks her and Court Tet had this same chemistry. It’s a winding, personal tune that ends up summarizing this album surprisingly well, and it makes me happy.
Rating: 7.5/10
Give A Listen To: “Fallen Leaves”, “Kong”, “Slow Release”, “Black Monday”
Least Favorite Track: “Faster Than The Truth”
Genre: Trip-Hop / Downtempo
Overall Thoughts: I mean, Neneh is just so damn talented that she can’t really make anything completely awful. Here, she teams up with Four Tet to make one of her most dreary, Downtempo albums to date. And sometimes, that’s done to a fault. There are more than a few tracks here which I wish there was a little more than just this very chilly, minimal beat and nothing more. Neneh’s angry, politically charged lyrics are almost always enough to keep me awake. But in the moments where Four Tet and Neneh really get on the same page, this quickly becomes mesmerizing.
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