Dave's Mercury's Winning Debut Album 'Psychodrama' it felt like a true cultural moment. The wonder of Streatham swept all before him, running to the brits and crashing through the glass ceiling in the process. Upon retiring from Twitter, ostensibly for soccer reasons, he began working on a following, but the prospect seemed particularly challenging. After all, how do you outshine such a powerful, intricate and emotionally insightful debut album?
'We are all alone in this together' is the answer. An album that thrives on frankness while refusing to give easy answers, finds Dave asking tough questions, both of himself and the world around him. Sonically a step up from its debut, it feels simultaneously more diverse and even more unified, united by the intensity of Dave's vision and the uniqueness of his purpose.
'Clash' was a dominant opening tactic. The sound of Dave and Stormzy pushing each other to higher levels founds two South London mic warriors focused on art. Sets the tone of the album as a whole; 'Psychodrama' occupied a different world than Dave's hit singles, 'Funky Friday' for example, 'but his later attempts to grapple with the rapper in 360, shifting from an intricate, cellular, novel composition to a blunt, clever immediacy for lists.
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However, it is never simplistic. The WizKid 'System' team is a bubbly rap burner, with the production of afrobeats fitting in perfectly with this current heat wave. However, it can only be fully understood in context; The previous track 'Three Rivers' is a powerful depiction of the diaspora and looks at how separate but parallel experiences merged to form a black British identity. Apparently rrecorded in one take, is an impressive and bleak moment of gratitude to the older generations, as you refuse to lessen your pain and sacrifice.
Taking on a stronger role as a producer this time around - he's credited with five tracks, but his presence is felt throughout - 'We're all alone in this together' illustrates Dave's studio dominance. The magnificent and challenging relationship drama 'Both Sides Of A Smile' is emblematic of this: an ever-evolving cellular narrative feels like a theater coming out of the stereo. James Blake's emotional voice and clear assistance in the arrangement add a wide-screen sensibility, but for Clash, the moment when Dave and the newcomer to London By Sha Simone The vocal interlock stands not only as one of the album's most technically accomplished feats, but also its most heartbreaking moment. Really devastating.
In fact, there is a lot to be said for Dave's curatorial abilities here. Largely avoiding the presence of Big Names, the south London artist is stubborn in his idiosyncratic way; each part forms a larger whole, be it an icon (Stormzy or Wizkid), an author (James Blake) or a newcomer (the fascinating appearance of Sha Simone). Snoh Aalegra shines on 'Law Of Attraction', but this poignant introspection finds its counterpoint earlier on the record: the fierce 'In The Fire' with its shocking guest announcements from (the unacredited) Fredo, Meekz, Giggs and Ghetts.
Never an artist who shies away from lengthy compositions - of his generation, he is perhaps the most in love, the most in love with the glory of words - Dave's skills reach their peak in the 10-minute 'Heart Attack' journey. His documentary skills are simply astonishing, blending concrete details with true strength of the heart, a torrent of effusive words that unravel the experience of British blacks, resisting easy answers and still imparting unquestionable truths. To choose only one line: "when you are black, everything is analyzed ..."
'We're all alone in this together' hits the queue for hit singles, near universal acclaim, and the nation's biggest awards. Perhaps his most personal message, however, is Dave's unease with this profile: the record begins ('We are all alone') and ends ('Survivor's Guilt') with warnings of what lies behind the glamor, a search for the meaning The suspect has just started.
A wonderful and inspired experience, Dave's second album seems to grab the listener and deposit them in a whole new place. It draws on the many fragmented facets of British rap, and other sonic traits as well, while somehow transcending them. Literate, wise and emotionally devastating, 'We're all alone in this together' places Dave at the absolute pinnacle of British music. An all-time great? We have no doubts.
9/10
Words: Robin murray
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