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9.0
78740
9.0 |
Gig Soup
Through its frequent but natural shifts in mood, another collection of quality songs, and La Havas' vocals as strong as ever
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8.0
78475
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Although Blood only features ten predominantly short songs, the myriad flashes of brilliance render the album’s brevity irrelevant
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8.0
78608
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
Fortunately the cooks don’t spoil the broth and Blood has an enthralling balance of cohesion and eclecticism
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8.0
78363
8.0 |
The FT
Big soul moments and reflective passages of singing
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8.0
78379
8.0 |
PopMatters
With Blood, Lianne La Havas rediscovers herself and adds a prefix to her name
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8.0
78361
8.0 |
The Music
La Havas is the real deal and a reassuring antidote to pop's mainstream
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8.0
78466
8.0 |
Exclaim
More than anything, she's now proven she's able to step out from behind the guitar and deliver great songs without a care for genre margins
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8.0
78482
8.0 |
DIY
La Havas cherry picks the sweetest sounds from her musical DNA
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8.0
78494
8.0 |
All Music
This work leaves the debut, impressive as it was, in the dust
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8.0
78511
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Blood is always accessible but there are layers of depth to unpeel and this is determinedly adult music for those who have lived lives, albeit not always successfully
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7.7
78399
7.7 |
Pitchfork
Tracks flow into one another with the fluidity and serenity of rain into a freshwater pond—light, refreshing, natural
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7.5
78405
7.5 |
Consequence Of Sound
Blood’s most engaging moments come when La Havas pierces through the layer of polish that’s coated her work to date
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7.0
78514
7.0 |
Uncut
Sophisticated soul songs built around her exquisite vocals. Print edition only
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7.0
78550
7.0 |
musicOMH
She largely succeeds in harnessing her instrument to reveal the thoughts within. Big isn’t always better, but it tends towards triumph here
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7.0
78553
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
When it comes together — as on the bumping ode to Jamaica "Green & Gold," and the spare "Wonderful" — this album demands, and rewards, all the attention you can give it
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7.0
78476
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Her music has definitely progressed, and she's found a deeper, broader sound. It is somehow stuck, however. All the component parts seem present, but they don’t quite add up to a greater whole
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7.0
80007
7.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Don’t get on Lianne La Havas’ bad side
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6.0
78965
6.0 |
Clash
Lianne La Havas has grown up, branched out, written some devastatingly honest songs, and presented a highly competent album
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6.0
78481
6.0 |
State
Blood should be a deeply personal album, given La Havas took inspiration for it from her Jamaican heritage, but instead we are only allowed glimpses of someone with a flawless vocal technique and strong songwriting style
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6.0
78360
6.0 |
The List
This predictable increase in confidence manifests in an increase in instrumentation
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6.0
78500
6.0 |
The Guardian
A gorgeous voice, let down slightly by tame songwriting
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6.0
78505
6.0 |
The Irish Times
A smart delivery of digital soul (Wonderful), elegant ballad (Good Goodbye), brass-inclined (Midnight), and breezy soul-pop (What You Don’t Do)
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6.0
78508
6.0 |
The Observer
The feather-light touch of La Havas’s voice can be deceptive; for all her apparent ease, there are sufficient quirks and depths to her writing
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6.0
78406
6.0 |
Mojo
This is a fine second chapter in her story. Print edition only
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6.0
78407
6.0 |
Q
An ambitious and assured album that refuses to move any direction but up. Print edition only
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6.0
78362
6.0 |
The Independent
Sade-esque boudoir soul and relationship reflections that, pleasant as they are, gradually release their hold on one’s attention
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4.0
78473
4.0 |
NOW
The arrangements are pretty but suggest nothing beyond what's already in the lyrics. When she does get a little messy on Never Get Enough, it's with a perfunctory blast of distortion
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