Little Simz
Lotus
★★★★
AWAL
Her 2024 Glastonbury triumph suggested Little Simz’s sixth album should’ve been a victory lap, but_Lotus_ finds her reeling from trauma. It opens with Thief, aimed at a confidant turned traitor (suggesting her legal claim against producer Inflo), its distilled anger suggesting you should endeavour to avoid Simz’s bad books. Though no other track here rages as fiercely, emotions remain raw throughout.
But for Simz, agony is clearly an energy, yielding some of her finest work yet, like Blood, eavesdropping a complex conversation between siblings that swings from rancour to devotion, the title track’s wracked slice of acid-soul, driven by Yussef Dayes’ restless drums and Michael Kiwanuka’s haunted, ruminative hook. The vibe isn’t all downer, however – Young is a character study as laceratingly funny as prime Specials; Lion’s Fela-esque Afrobeat is irresistible (“everybody scatter”, indeed). Producer/ collaborator Miles James Clinton, meanwhile, realises Simz’s every creative whim, keeping brilliance always within her reach.
Lotus is out June 6 on AWAL.
ORDER: Amazon| Rough Trade
Track Listing:
Thief
Flood (featuring Obongjayar & Moonchild Sanelly)
Young
Only (featuring Lydia Kitto)
Free
Peace (featuring Moses Sumney & Miraa May)
Hollow
Lion (featuring Obongjayar)
Enough (featuring Yukimi Nagano)
Blood (featuring Wretch 32 & Cashtastic)
Lotus (featuring Michael Kiwanuka & Yussef Dayes)
Lonely
Blue (featuring Sampha)
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