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IRL
IRL in Bloomington, MN
Current price: $18.49
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Size: CD
Mahalia
spoke of losing momentum to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no one outside her circle could have detected such an effect from what transpired for the singer/songwriter between the September 2019 release of
Love and Compromise
and the July 2023 arrival of
IRL
. She won 2020 and 2022 MOBO awards, was nominated for multiple BRITs and a Grammy, and amid the flurry of those accolades earned her third BRIT silver certification.
was productive, too, releasing an album's worth of EPs and singles. (Was world domination the objective?) She was active enough that
doesn't truly feel like a return or even a follow-up. Still, she immediately set this album apart from
by previewing it with the fluid and bumping "Terms and Conditions," a shrewd collaboration with
RAYE
that is unequivocal about its "rules in place" for a potential lover. There's a similar level of assuredness with regard to partners in songs like "Cheat," the posting of a zero-tolerance policy with help from
JoJo
and bright late-'90s throwback production, and "It's Not Me, It's You," a subtly stinging duet with a defensive
Destin Conrad
. The same goes for "November," a ballad of contentment and devotion with an equally glowing
Stormzy
, and "Wassup," a tough hip-hop soul gem with a typically gruff
Kojey Radical
. As fine as those songs are, there is an overspill of featured appearances that verge on drowning out a consistently pleasurable singer who makes songwriting sound easy in both introspective and conversational modes. The undaunted folk-soul opener "Ready," strutting "In My Bag," and slick street-soul jam "Isn't It Strange," all of which are unassisted, are just as striking as any track with a co-star. ~ Andy Kellman
spoke of losing momentum to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no one outside her circle could have detected such an effect from what transpired for the singer/songwriter between the September 2019 release of
Love and Compromise
and the July 2023 arrival of
IRL
. She won 2020 and 2022 MOBO awards, was nominated for multiple BRITs and a Grammy, and amid the flurry of those accolades earned her third BRIT silver certification.
was productive, too, releasing an album's worth of EPs and singles. (Was world domination the objective?) She was active enough that
doesn't truly feel like a return or even a follow-up. Still, she immediately set this album apart from
by previewing it with the fluid and bumping "Terms and Conditions," a shrewd collaboration with
RAYE
that is unequivocal about its "rules in place" for a potential lover. There's a similar level of assuredness with regard to partners in songs like "Cheat," the posting of a zero-tolerance policy with help from
JoJo
and bright late-'90s throwback production, and "It's Not Me, It's You," a subtly stinging duet with a defensive
Destin Conrad
. The same goes for "November," a ballad of contentment and devotion with an equally glowing
Stormzy
, and "Wassup," a tough hip-hop soul gem with a typically gruff
Kojey Radical
. As fine as those songs are, there is an overspill of featured appearances that verge on drowning out a consistently pleasurable singer who makes songwriting sound easy in both introspective and conversational modes. The undaunted folk-soul opener "Ready," strutting "In My Bag," and slick street-soul jam "Isn't It Strange," all of which are unassisted, are just as striking as any track with a co-star. ~ Andy Kellman
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