New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, released July 31 on Nonesuch / Warner Bros. Records, is New York NPR member station WFUV's New Dig of the week.
"Blood stretches La Havas's scope as a songwriter, singer and guitarist, embracing neo-soul and jazz, while peppering the proceedings with dashes of R&B, reggae, and doo wop," says WFUV's Darren DeVivo in naming the album the New Dig. "Her voice is wonderfully powerful and full; it rings clearly and soars majestically over her sunshine-dappled melodies ... The emphasis on a soulful groove is a key component to the album, as is its blend of quiet intimacy and bolder flourishes."
Noting La Havas's recent trip to her mother's homeland of
Jamaica as an inspiration for the record, he says: "Blood looks at one's sense of being and the quest for self-discovery. It's a universal journey and this sense of searching permeates each song."
DeVivo concludes: "Blood is a sensual, late-night journey that draws from within, but confidently and joyously emerges outward in a splendid show of emotion. By examining her own history, La Havas not only bridges the past and the present, but forges her artistic future."
Read more at wfuv.org and tune in to WFUV at 90.7 FM in New York City and online to hear music from the album all this week. Blood was Album of the Week last week at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current.
"Roll up your windows. Grab a hairbrush in your bedroom. Push 'play,'" exclaims Jade at The Current. "Blood showcases La Havas as a powerhouse vocalist, her voice lilting and floating like a butterfly over the music in one instant and slamming down with force and a gritty roughness the next moment." She concludes: "It's an album you'll want to learn the lyrics of so you can sing along to it—loudly." Read more at thecurrent.org.
To pick up a copy now, head to iTunes, Amazon, or the Top40-charts.com Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a download of the complete album at checkout and the digital album is also available to purchase.