During her days touring with Groove Armada and promoting her collaborations on the electronic music duo’s album Black Light, Saint Saviour’s Rebecca Jones painted herself as a show girl somewhere between a Robyn, La-Roux and Annie Lennox figure especially in the music video for “I Won’t Kneel”. To be fair she did have that kind of haircut and wore cyber clothing that Luc Besson would be proud of. The style suited the genre she was promoting and that’s fair enough. As it many cases; it is only on a solo LP that we truly hear a singer’s potential away from the loud sonics.

 

So her incredibly entertaining debut album “Union” arrived giving us an indication of a classical-trained voice that is sometimes eccentric and wild and sometimes controlled and sublime whilst always maintaining an incredible similarity to Kate Bush. The musical backdrop had its electronica inspired by Groove Armada but mostly switched from indie rock (Anna Calvi) to art rock to 80s synth pop in the vein of Simple Minds and Depeche Mode.  It was album that was incredibly diverse, weird, enjoyable but had trouble finding its personality.

 

Her sophomore is the complete opposite, it’s self-assured, minimalistic and as far from her Groove Armada contributions as you can get. Gone are the experimental rollercoasters and the voice has also remarkably changed as if it’s completely different person like in the way that Australia’s Sia metamorphoses in each song to lack identification.

 

It no longer sounds like Kate Bush and instead it’s gorgeous, innocent and delicate, as if her voice has regressed into youth. She still hasn’t found her own distinctive voice though as it drifts between Stina Nordenstam and Victoria Bergsman’s child-like tendencies and Charlotte Gainsbourg and Natasha Khan’s whispering. Maybe it’s a work in progress?

 

I know it’s hard to call the music stripped back when it features the helping hand of  Manchester Camerata Orchestra but their contribution is more for convenience rather than a dramatic and attentional approach, leaving the album to still feel personal and easy listening. I can’t help but compare it to the massively underrated and unluckily time-released “The Deserters” by Rachel Zeffira (It was released in December 21st making it unable to reach best-of-the-year lists), because on both every track could belong to a christmas advertisement with snow falling from a black sky as woodland creatures give and receive presents to each other.
 

The album’s highlights include the Javier Navarrete style “Sad Kid” and  the penultimate “James”, which begins with a haunting glockenspiel and Rebecca Jones’s voice breezing effortlessly as if she is singing a lullaby to her own mirror in her bedroom with just the dressing table light shining. It’s a typical example of her beautiful transition from showmanship to minimalistic intimacy. The moments where she uses a solitary acoustic guitar (“Devotion”, “A Word”) are less powerful and more forgettable despite being a nice conjunction of Emiliana Torrini and Nick Drake and being produced by ex-The Coral guitarist Bill Ryder Jones. They are still an important addition to a relaxing and peaceful album worthy of a lazy Sunday afternoon with the headphones on, ready for a dream. MTH

 

Best tracks: "James" and "Sad Kid"