Lianne La Havas (album)

Following the release of La Havas' second studio album Blood (2015), Havas was not satisfied with the album and felt it did not express or represent her at the time. She took time off from her recording career, entering a new relationship and later dealing with the break-up, although she continued to tour in the period between albums. La Havas did not know what direction the album would initially take and "tapped into the best and worst parts" to help inform it. The album's theme was inspired by the life cycle of nature and plants. La Havas wanted the album to follow the journey of a seasonal flower, one that "blooms, thrives, goes away, and comes back even stronger. A flower has to dry up and die in order to be reborn. You have to get to the rock bottom to rebuild yourself." The relationship and its break-up became the main theme of the album's lyrical content, which follows a journey of three vignettes. The first describes the early and joyous period a new relationship, the second focuses on the demise of the relationship whilst the third revolves around the enjoyment and loneliness of being independent. ==Writing and recording==

The album was written after La Havas' breakup from her partner, with La Havas stating, "I can't write when I'm in the thick of it. I think I've got to calm down a little bit." Recording of the album was not initially planned. "Can't Fight" was inspired by R&B from La Havas' childhood. The song was created and recorded in Peckham along with producer Mura Masa. During the production of the song La Havas and Masa were listening to Vulfpeck, which inspired the song's soulful production. ==Composition==

The album's digital version features twelve tracks, whilst the album's physical version features ten. The album is a predominantly neo-soul album, however Sophia Ordaz of Slant Magazine states "La Havas's style remains tricky to pin down, existing somewhere in the nexus of the soulful warmth of Corinne Bailey Rae, the confessional lyricism of Amy Winehouse, and the folky melodicism of Joni Mitchell." The song does not sit within the three vignette's but was described by La Havas as an "overview" of the album's themes. From "Bittersweet" onward, the album follows the arc of a relationship headed for disaster. The first phase, infatuation, is introduced in the second song "Read My Mind". The song lyrically describes La Havas' being smitten with new love. is a cover of a song originally written and performed by Radiohead.|alt= "Can't Fight" features the use of the guitar and lyrically discusses wanting something that is not right for you. Expanding on this theme, La Havas said "People say if you're having a hard time in a relationship, just leave. It's so easy to say, but it's so much more complicated than that. Because there's two of you, and neither of you are perfect. And there are things that you're learning along the way. So you think, Well, let me do a little bit of work and just see if we can get that feeling back—it's possible because we do really love each other." "Weird Fishes" is a cover version originally performed by Radiohead from the album In Rainbows (2007). La Havas' version features a stripped-down production containing soulful and key-heavy tones. "Seven Times" incorporates elements of Spanish flamenco and jazz and drew comparisons to Lauryn Hill. "Sour Flower" is a seven-minute song that features folk and art-rock influences and was noted by Michael Cragg from The Observer as "recalls Rainbows-era Radiohead". ==Release and promotion==

The album was released on 17 July 2020, by Warner Records, La Havas' third to be released under the label. The standard edition was released on CD, vinyl, digital download and streaming. The digital version of the album contains two additional tracks; "Bittersweet" (Full Length) and "Out of Your Mind" (interlude). The vinyl version of the album was released in two formats; a standard version and an exclusive clear version. To promote the album La Havas' did multiple live performances. In late February La Havas sang at the Barbican in London alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jules Buckley. In early May, La Havas performed from home at "NPR's "Tiny Desk (Home) Concert" series. The homemade video featured La Havas accompanied by her string guitar whilst performing "Bittersweet" and "Paper Thin". The album was supported by the release of two singles. The album's lead single "Bittersweet" was released on 25 February 2020. La Havas released "Paper Thin" on 4 May 2020, the same day that the album was announced. ==Critical reception==

Lianne La Havas received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 19 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.0 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. The album's eclectic musical style was well received by reviewers. musicOMH writer Chloe Johnson described the album as "truly captivating" saying "every song is an earworm, and Lianne La Havas’ third album is haunting in the way only inspiring music can claim to be; a beautiful ghost to soundtrack your life to." NME's Jenessa Williams similarly praised the album's composition observing that "‘Lianne La Havas’ is a far more cohesive record than any of its predecessors, focused around a primary nucleus of intimate vocals, nimble guitar-work and driving percussion." Michael Cragg from The Observer summarised the album saying "While there are still nods to the polite dinner-party soundtrack feel of her early work – the string-drenched Courage, for example – this is a much bolder statement of intent." Other reviews recognized that the album's lyrical exploration. Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph called the album a "jazzy, soulful, understated account of breakup and recovery, that shimmers like a gorgeous summer groove and lets La Havas's tender singing and cryptic lyrics carry the bittersweet emotion." Slant Magazine writer Sophia Ordaz believed "the album instantly feels more purposeful than its predecessor: Where Blood can feel labored over, perhaps too hungry for hits, Lianne La Havas isn't seemingly beholden to such expectations." Andy Kellman made a similar comparison in the review for AllMusic, claiming that "La Havas' lithe voice forms a tighter bond with the lyrics, and her gently ringing guitar rarely leaves her hands." Rachel Aroesti from Q was more critical and believed "there's a wobbly quality to La Havas's toplines that means they can get lost in the more densely instrumented tracks, yet the sparser finger-picked guitar numbers give her songwriting space to shine." ==Track listing==

Notes • A 3:56 edit of "Bittersweet" is included at the end of some digital editions. "Out of Your Mind (interlude)" is included as a hidden track after "Paper Thin" on physical editions. Sampling credits • "Bittersweet" contains a sample of "Medley: "Ike's Rap III" / "Your Love Is So Doggone Good" performed by Isaac Hayes • "Weird Fishes" is a cover version of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" (2007) performed by Radiohead, written by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway. ==Personnel==

Musicians • Lianne La Havas – lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (1, 3, 7, 11), guitar (1–5, 7–11), snare drums (8) • James Wyatt – backing vocals, keyboards (1, 7); Moog, piano, Rhodes (2); claps, vocal arrangement, vocoder (7) • Frida Touray – backing vocals (1, 3, 7), claps (7) • Yves Fernandez – bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), claps (7) • Dan See – drums, percussion (1, 2, 4, 7, 9); additional drums (8) • Richard Adlam – drums, keyboards, programming (1) • Hal Ritson – drums, keyboards, programming (1) • Elroy Powell – vocals (1) • Dan Grech – additional programming (1, 7) • Bruno Major – guitar, piano (2) • Sam Crowe – keyboards (2, 11), piano (3, 11); Rhodes, Moog (3) • Chris Tabron – keyboards (2) • Davide Rossi – string arrangement, cello, viola, violin (4) • Joe Harrison – bass guitar (5); guitar, keyboards (10) • Homer Steinwess – drums (5) • Geordan Reid-Campbell – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, percussion (6) • Nick Hakim – backing vocals, drum programming, electric guitar, Mellotron, Minimoog, Wurlitzer (8) • Matt Hales – bass guitar, drum programming, Rhodes (9) • Gareth Lockrane – flute (9) • Tim Mcnalley – cello, viola (10) • Paul Castelluzzo – whistle (10) • Burniss Travis – double bass (11) • Mark Guiliana – drums, percussion (11) Technical • Stuart Hawkes – mastering (1–) • Dan Grech – mixing (1, 7) • Renaud Letang – mixing (2, 4) • Beni Giles – mixing (3, 9), additional vocal recording (3) • Matt Hales – mixing (5, 6, 10), vocal engineering (2, 10, 11) • Chris Tabron – mixing (8, 11), engineering (11) • Robert Wilkes – engineering (1, 2, 7), additional vocal recording (3) • Daniel Moyler – engineering (2, 4, 9), additional vocal recording (7) • Sam Crowe – engineering (3) • Joe Harrison – engineering (5) • Homer Steinwess – engineering (5) • Geordan Reid-Campbell – engineering (6) • Nick Hakim – engineering, recording (8) • Bill Malina – engineering (10) • Nate Odden – engineering (11) • Brandon Peralta – mixing assistance (8, 11), engineering assistance (11) • Jonny Breakwell – engineering assistance (2, 4, 9), additional vocal recording (7) • Augusto Sanchez – engineering assistance (11) ==Charts==