This Bitch sings when she wants to, some NYC graffiti accurately surmised the frustration and respect awarded to Ms Adu and company’s infrequent output. The songstress herself prefers to state they only produce music when she has something to say.
Soldier of Love could be seen as faint political commentary on the nature of war or meditations on the tyranny of love but it sounds just as much like a band joyfully staking out their musical territory. The obvious message is that Sade is “still alive.” Weary, maybe a little, but determined and tougher.
The voice is still alluring and mournful, the lyrics and songwriting mellow and still superior to most. The album Soldier of Love is more velvet revolution than mass destruction, with an occasional brutal image cast over beautiful soundscapes.
The chemistry of the musicians has survived their hiatus; experts in musical seduction songs like In Another Time and Skin are quintessential Sade: aural luxury draped in emotion. No great surprises here. The gracefully arranged Morning Bird is hypnotic, but drifts rather than soars.
To use her own simile most of the songs stretch out ‘like a lazy dog’ and they savour and explore slow flows. The country-tinged Be That Easy is lilting and breezy, with beguiling vocals. This and the rougher, Baby Father stand out and offer an earthy experimentation wending from the trail of 2000′s Lovers Rock. Sade restores genuine affection to the baby father tag with a wistful reggae tinged incantation.
Dark and mythical Bring Me Home dances around influence and inspiration, a trip hop atmosphere (and beats) with more grit than the bombastic title song: “I’m far away from God … Lay me out on the railway track.”
There’s a gentle friction between hope and despair, with Love as the victor. Exquisite, adored and reassuring in uncertain times, Sade is certainly in a timeless groove (rather than a rut). As the HBIC tells it, “the heart is the safest place.” But where to next?
(7.5/10)
Wait, there’s more: Check out the Afripop TV interview with South African/Canadian soul singer Zaki Ibrahim // Nneka: Heart and Afro-soul // Review: Nneka live at University of London
