Album Review: Tracey Thorn - Record

1 March 2018 | 10:17 am | Guido Farnell

"Few artists could dispense lyrics about contraceptives and the desire to have babies or the pain of stalking an ex on social media so eloquently."

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Looking a little like a Warhol portrait of Liza Minnelli on the cover of her latest album, Tracey Thorn has arrived with the latest instalment in her slow-burn career as a solo artist.

Thorn presents an album of polished, adult-themed, dance-orientated pop music. Few artists could dispense lyrics about contraceptives and the desire to have babies or the pain of stalking an ex on social media so eloquently. Longtime collaborator Ewan Pearson provides Thorn with a delightful, vintage, '80s electro-pop bounce. The lead single Queen feels anthemic, but it finds Thorn questioning who and what she is and what she's done with her life. Like much of Thorn's best work, it is quietly introspective and strangely uplifting; Warpaint's Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa on drums and bass keep this tune moving at a brisk pace. Air feels like a long-lost Annie Lennox song while Guitar is a loving reflection of many years past as Thorn is thankful for all the joy that making music has brought to her life. Feminist perspectives emerge in the eight-minute disco jam Sister, which becomes a powerful display of feminine strength.

There is plenty of heart and soul in Thorn's gentle disco.