The London-based, Devon-born musician Rosie Lowe has emerged as one of the most hotly tipped artists around. With just a handful of tracks made available so far, all eyes are on Control, her debut album. And few will be disappointed, for she incontrovertibly shows what a talent she is, an artist who marries the r'n'b vibes and grooves of Jessie Ware and Banks, with the old school song-writing classicism of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and the more leftfield soul-pop of Bat For Lashes, Imogen Heap and Erykah Badu.

Signed to Adele producer Paul Epworth's Wolf Tone label, and with Dave Okumu on production duties along with Lowe, Control is a pioneering work, an album that breaks loose from expected genres, much in the same way Ghostpoet, James Blake, Laura Mvula and The xx have done in recent times, in creating work that is smeared with restrained emotion and deep urban soul. There are textures a-plenty within the disparate grooves, and much space created in allowing Lowe's beautifully controlled and multifarious voice to shine, along with the mesmerising synth-soul soundscapes that oscillate between the dark and noir, and the bright and breezy.

Key to the album is its innate spirit. Throughout Control, Lowe bares her soul as she explores gender, identity and friendship, all wrapped up in attempting to understand what control is and how it can be managed; how to deal with hers and others insecurities and anxieties, sometimes from the overt perspective of what it is to be a woman. For instance, Who's That Girl addresses the matter of some so-called friends who didn't help while she was hospitalised, and Nicole is written with the spirit of female friendship and support in mind, as she writes about a friend in an unhealthy relationship.

Recent single, the gentle neo-house meets r'n'b grooves and textures of Worry Bout Us tackles the complexities of trying to retain a relationship involving someone who is plagued by insecurity; the easy-going soulful r'n'b So Human deals with the fact that negative emotions are a vital part of the human experience; and I’ll Be Gone is an emotional plea not to flee when the challenges emerge.

Throughout, Lowe is articulate, and bile-free. Hers is an honest, open hearted approach, through which she explores and expresses her emotions and feelings, in a way few are able to do. For Lowe, she is fighting the feminist fight, but in terms of equality, and nothing else. A fight she wrestles with, on behalf of women, on the warming yet stripped back soul of Woman: “I have analysed every single inch of my skin / And comparisons I can’t seem to break in my daily routine / I found myself obsessive with imperfections that only I see,” she sings.

Musically, it's classy stuff, with plenty to get your teeth (and ears) into. From the dark, glitchy and slinky opening track Run Run Run, to the deceptively smooth r'n'b of Who's That Girl, Lowe shows herself to be a skilful and tasteful studio operator. There's glitchy r'n'b, neo-soul, electronica, and a leftfield pop nous throughout. Lowe often peppering her songs with multilayered voices, inventive electro-percussion, synth and effects flourishes, and a craftsmans (craftswoman!?) appreciation of space and dynamics, going so far as to include a very short but deeply glitchy r'n'b moment call INTRLD. It is all very sensual, but not sexual. And it all adds up to a mesmerising late-night vibe of a record, that flows seamlessly from beginning to end.
Jeff Hemmings

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