Album- Home
Artist- Rudimental
Rudimental have definitely been one of the rising stars of
the UK music scene, already securing themselves two mega number 1 hits. But
does their album Home really deserve all the success that critics and fans are
giving it?
Track 1- Home
Opening track and album title song is a simple, soulful
affair that offers a warm opening to the record and means that we enter into
the band’s sound gradually rather than immediately nestling in a booming, dance
driven world. Featuring smooth vocals from an uncredited female singer who has
a bluesy tone to her voice, the track has a warmth in the vocal performance
that is quite inviting for the listener, and this makes the lyrical message of
the track stand out that little bit more, in which we find the group focusing
on how they have to kind of face the world away from home and it’s this journey
that is difficult but they will get through. Featuring a simple drum back
beats, some bluesy piano undertones and cool slices of funky guitar strumming,
the production of the track creates a chilled groove that makes the message
more potent, and so for an album opener this is a strong offering.
3.5/5
Track 2- Feel the
Love (featuring John Newman)
One of the songs of the summer in UK for 2012, the group’s
first number one and the track that
brought them out into the public consciousness, Feel the Love is a stomping
track that features a cool blend of dubstep, soul, club beats and jazzy horns
for a sound that a range of audiences will enjoy. Lyrically the track is all
about how Newman and Rudimental can feel the love in the room, and they want to
know if you can feel it to. It is a bit lyrically sparse, but it’s simplicity
is a real strength of the song, and with his soulful vocals Newman drenches the
song in a cool vocal that gets you excited about the music, and which works
really well in creating a powerful vocal sound intermixed with delicate
moments. With the infusion of sounds in the production the track sounds really
powerful and also has a great build in energy, and so if you are not jumping up
and down by the final chorus then there is something wrong.
4/5
Track 3- Right Here
(featuring Foxes)
Another cool blend of sounds that work really comfortably
together comes with this track that features a dipping between softer energy
and a booming sound. Featured artist Foxes brings a soft and smooth but fragile
vocal performance that makes for a little bit of a euphoric energy within the
track, as she sings of how everyone has something they can’t hide, and we
should just let it out right here, right now. It’s not as catchy lyrically as
the previous track but the ‘oh’s’ in the prost chorus give us that catchy
quality that is needed, whilst the bridge is and final of moments of the track
are strong in terms of the haunting vocal that Foxes gives. The dubstep, get up
and go crazy elements are here and make for a great sound to the track, but the
production also infuses a cool slice of reggae into the mix to also give us a
chilled vibe, with the breakdown in the bridge bulding this sound into this
proper feisty rave section where you can let loose, and so this would be a
great sngle choice as a song for the summer.
3.5/5
Track 4- Hell Could
Freeze (featuring Angel Haze)
Rudimental have stated in interviews that when recording
songs they really make sure that the artist that is involved is truly a part of
the creative process, and I feel that if any song was to show that, Hell Could
Freeze is definitely one of those, as it feels like an incomplete song without
the impressive raps from Haze, and those raps are really strong and don’t feel
half-hearted at all. The song is a bit of a heartbreak song that lyrically puts
on display a kind of relationship of turmoil, but there is also this edge of
standing strong. Haze raps like she is a pro who has been in the game for
years, and she exudes a confidence that can really captivate the listener,
whilst her raps meld nicely with the delicacy of the singing in the chorus, and
each section is just as potent as the former. The production is also strong in
the way it starts off with just the delicacy of the piano and then goes into
more electronic notes with a touch of synth, but there is always a subdued
quality and the lyrics are always the thing you really focus on. The only issue
I feel with this song is that the last 30 seconds make it feel a little dragged
out, but otherwise this is a very fine tune.
4/5
Track 5- Spoons
(featuring MNEK and Syron)
Released as the records lead single but failing to make a
significant impact on the charts, Spoons is a track with a kind of simmering,
gritty energy blended together with smooth, soulful vocal performances. The
production of the tracks has a chilled but powerful quality, with the tinny percussion
giving the track and organic feel that lives up to its title, and blending well
with the electronic swirls that give a great, building energy to the track.
Both Syron and MNEK give vocal performances that are smooth and simple, but
convey a true sense of emotion and really make us listen to the words. The
lyrics are perhaps a little repetitive, but they do have this cutting emotional
note, as MNEK and Syron talk about
challenges and the fear of falling deeper, with the lyrics having a relationship
tone in terms of the vocal combination, but also being great in having the
ability to mean different things for different listeners. Whilst it is easy to
see why this track didn’t really set alight the charts and bring Rudimental
success In the way that Feel the Love was designed to, this track has an
altogether more potent energy, and would perhaps stand well in the charts in
the form of a re-release
3.5/5
Track 6- Hide
(featuring Sinead Harnett)
Hide is another song where we are given a vocal that is very
smooth and that touch soulful, and is also the longest track on the record. The
song nicely follows the previous track in terms of the simmering energy of the
vocals and the production, but things are a touch darker here, and the sound
has more of an attention grabbing quality through the blending of a range of
instruments. The song lyrically focuses on Hartnett saying to her man that she
won’t give up on this relationship despite her emotions and the fact that she
hides herself away from her lover. Hartnett has a voice that has a naturally
fragile quality, and she is a great vocal choice in really conveying the
emotions of the lyrics. But here the production once again becomes the best
part of the record, standing alone whilst also really blending with the rest of
the songs components. The use of piano, horns and a simpe steady backbeat is
intriguing and gives us a chilled rhythm that makes the song feel a bit more
potent, with a touch of dubstep flourishes in there that sound very good. The
song is perhaps a little dragged out, but not enough to be really annoying, and
really acts as a sign of their great musical creativity.
3.5/5
Track 7- Powerless
(featuring Becky Hill)
Opening up in a way that feels dramatic and anything but
powerless, this track is great in the way that it has an ethereal quality that
really builds, with the chorus being an emotionally loaded section that shows
off the vocal power of Becky Hill and really grabs your attention. The song
finds Hill singing about feel weak and trying not to love this guy, but in the
end she just cannot. The singer is one of the most vocally emotional of the
singers on this record in terms of the use of powerful ad libs and a vocal
performance that powerfully shows off her range, and this song definitely feels
like she has put her stamp on it as an artist. The track also offers a bit of
variation to the record in terms of the sound which is a little less eclectic
that some of the other songs and instead just powerfully uses piano and strings
alongside some drum and bass to create a grand sound that elevates the lyrical
and vocal qualities of the track.
3.5.5
Track 8- More Than
Anything (featuring Emeli Sande)
Featured on the record twice, I would say that Emeli Sande
is really the only big name that appears on the record (although you could
argue that Alex Clare is), and even she is still growing in her success and has
only been around for less than two years as a defined solo artist. More Than
Anything opens up in a seemingly dramatic fashion like the previous track, but
the song has much more of a darker and slightly aggressive tone to the
production. The song is very powerful in terms of Sande’s vocal performance,
which builds up from a really soft and moody level to a high range, pleading
tone that powerfully makes us feel the words of the track. The song feels one
of the most emotionally vulnerable and honest pieces on the record whereby
Sande is this girl who has had some hardships in life, and she simply tells
this boy that it is really hard for her to let go but she wants to love really
badly. The production of the song is once again really great in the way that
the drum and bass sound really builds to create an impactful mood, particularly
within the chorus, and things are still kept on quite a nice level of
simplicity in terms of the use of strings and piano, but the electronic tones
of the track definitely make it stand out, particularly in the way that Sande’s
vocals are slightly distorted in places to really bring out the songs emotion,
particularly in terms of the songs final moments.
3.5/5
Track 9- Not Giving
In (featuring John Newman and Alex Clare)
The records second single is another John Newman
collaboration that is vocally loaded with emotion, this time with a little help
from British singer songwriter Alex Clare. The song is one of the strongest on
the record in terms of the way that the chorus sounds like it would be great
being sung back to the group by a chorus, and the loud, thumping energy of the
track melds well with the positive ideology of the song’s lyrics that focus on
the idea of being stronger and really fighting for what you want. The songs
production utilises the familiar drum and bass sound of the group very well,
with the breakdown of the middle section making for an impactful final chorus.
And both Newman and Clare bring strong and gritty vocal performances that
really impact the listener, although Clare’s role in the song is a bit
questionable. The problem with this track is that it has a number of
similarities with the groups breakout hit Feel the Love, and it kind of comes
across as if the group are trying to repeat the magic of that song again for
more success, and so in the process the song becomes a bit flat.
2.5/5
Track 10- Baby
(featuring Sinead Harnett and MNEK)
Hartnett and MNEK both make another guest appearance for the
record with this track that is more up tempo in energy than both artists
previous offerings on the record, and has a sound that is really impactful.
Lyrically the track finds both artists in a questioning mood as they want their
baby to tell them whether they are wasting their time with this relationship,
as they cannot read the other person. The song is made better by the use of a
male and female vocal within the track that makes for different perspective,
but which also really blends well, with both singers bringing soulful and rich
vocal performances that have a nice chilled and slightly sensual edge. The
production has simple electronic undertones that blend nicely with the steady
drum beats, and songs sound definitely builds to a grand quality within the
chorus, and the only small issue with the track is that the last 30 seconds or
so of the track just feel a tad dragged out.
3.5/5
Track 11- Waiting All
Night (featuring Ella Eyre)
Featuring the gorgeous vocals of Ella Eyre who’s star will
undoubtedly rise from the release of this song, Waiting All Night was the
albums third single and the groups second number one. And there is a good
reason for this, because this is an awesome song. The songs lyrics are really
simple, as Eyre sings of waiting all night for this person to tell her things
that she wants to here, and although the song is a bit lyrically sparse, the
simplicity of the track is actually here one of it’s strengths, with the simple
words having some real emotional grit to them. The production of the song
features a frenzied drum and bass energy mixed in with soulful background
vocals and forceful use of horns, whilst the electronic stutters in the track
just further add to the songs power. The production is also really strong in
the way that at times it pulls back, with the bridge being really powerful and
making for a climatic end. But the undeniably best thing about this track is
Ella Eyre, whose vocal performance is so smooth and soulful and emotional and
just amazing that she brings the song truly to life and makes it seem like
absolutely no one else could have sung this song but her.
5/5
Track 12- Free
(featuring Emeli Sande)
The final track is another Emeli Sande collaboration that is
little bit more gentler in tone and ends things on a light but powerfully
emotional note. The song is all about how Sande being a little unsure of
herself and not fitting in, but feeling okay in the end cause she is free to be
who she wants to be. The song has a nice bit of positivity mixed in with the
unsure quality that will connect with quite a few listeners. The universal
quality of the track ,as well as the smooth and sincere quality of the vocal
performance also makes this a song that works on this record but also kind of
sounds like it would fit equally well on an Emeli Sande record. Keeping things
subdued in the production with the light piano and guitar melodies and steady
backbeat means the song is on a level that is just nice, and the addition of
the chorus of voices towards the end is a nice touch, making for a good close
to the record.
Final Review
Rudimental have a really unique sound that is cultivated
well and feels like it automatically appeals to a range of audiences. Each of
the guest features on this record really brings something powerful to the
record, and the essence of Rudimental and the guest artists really working
together creatively does indeed come out in the music. If there is one debut
album of 2013 that will be the highlight of the year, than someone will have a
really tough time beating Rudimental, particularly when all the tracks on hear
are really good and have the potential to be singles.
9.5/10
Best Track- Waiting
All Night (featuring Ella Eyre)
Worst Track- Not Giving
In (featuring John Newman and Alex Clare)
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