From the very intro and the first song of the new album by Mercury Prize nominee from Birmingham, we can hear that this is a highly produced, lucrative and creative album. Talented 30 year old singer Laura Mvula indulges in brave venture in order to experiment with sounds and play with various genre.
Guitar that invites you to dance in the single Overcome and the tribal interpretation of the verse Round the mountain all God’s children run are showing that Laura Mvula is far from classic neo soul nostalgic girl who is on the scene just to pay an homage to some past, better times. She is ready to create new memorable times, and she has the legacy to do so.
She likes to spice her songs with original rhythm structures, so you never know in which direction they are going to go. Is her vocal solo going to give birth to r’n’b polyphony (such as in Bread) or is it going to hit some higher notes while the drums beat in the background (such as in Let Me Fall).
The central track, the one with the most memorable melody (memorability of the melody is Laura’s biggest problem as she strives for complexity over catchiness) is Show Me Love, the fourth single launched from the record. It might be the most traditionally composed song. Sensitive soul ballade starts with gorgeous dreamy intro before transitioning to intimate indie jazz pop bursting from emotion and reaching its climax in concise and powerful chorus. It is the kind of chorus that hardly gets out of your head. Orchestrated finale is just a cherry on top and a definitive corpus delicti that this is the best thing Mvula has created so far.
Another standout is a song titled People made in collaboration with the rapper Wretch 32. The feature is congruent to Mvula’s energetic vocal soul part, while rich instrumental matrix brings the house down.
The Dreaming Room is not an album you will adore the first time you listen to it, no matter how strong its pop component is. This is a complex piece not reserved for casual music listeners who are into elevator music or top 40 hits. The effort Laura Mvula has put into making her album managed to overcome its flaws. In fact, the only flaw is that there are no memorable melodies. Still, what you will never forget is the feeling her music brings.
