Get the latest gossip
Joy Crookes review – an enthralling, intimate set from this rising London soul star
The twentysomething singer-songwriter brings classic Motown rhythms with a touch of hip-hop to a resounding set of anti-anxiety anthems
That honour might go to the understated funk earworm Trouble, about a tumultuous, toxically appealing relationship; or Don’t Let Me Down (Demo), an early song performed by Crookes solo with an electric guitar, preserving all the warm minimalism of the original track. These songs, which largely fit the mould of the tracks on Skin with a little added pop oomph (sturdier and simpler beats, big choruses), are frequently about top-of-mind topics for young people: anxiety, beauty ideals, toxic exes, reliable besties. The track centres on a fictional character called Carmen, who represents an impossible ideal; with its halting piano intro, it brings to mind Frank Ocean’s Super Rich Kids and the opening bars of Bennie and the Jets.
Or read this on The Guardian