Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Rudimental- Home Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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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