Album Review: Alice Russell - To Dust

Blue-eyed soul or, to borrow a phrase from Screamin' Jay Hawkins, 'black music for white people' is as maligned as it is intermittently popular. Amy Winehouse's tragic passing left a hole for modern listeners and if there is any justice, fellow Brit Alice Russell's time may have finally come.

To Dust, her fifth full-length record, kicks off with sexy and fun A To Z – an enjoyable and groovy alphabet recitation song that is perhaps purposefully, perhaps unfortunately placed before outstanding modern soul classic Heartbreaker Pt. 2. Throughout it, and the record in full, Russell's voice is ever-perfect, as those who have heard it will attest. Comparisons to Winehouse are warranted, yes, but as are those to Nina Simone and (occasionally) Aretha Franklin. Russell's voice, to be sure, is pure soul. Modern electronic grooves, never hiding their artificiality, dance in front of big beat house-style bass rhythms, swinging ever so slightly out of beat and keeping everything to a relaxed pace.

I Loved You and Twin Peaks are both largely percussion/piano ballads which drive home the left-of-centre production approach on the record, and on the former in particular show Russell's real strengths as a lyricist. Hard And Strong is a rare misstep, which errs slightly too much towards commerciality and breaks the flow of the record somewhat.

This is neo-soul, funky jazz pop for 2013. Russell recalls the sounds that made this style of music classic, but does so with a gaze firmly fixed on the future. She may not always hit the mark exactly, but choices as stylistically bold and modern as these are worth the time of anyone looking for truly soulful grooves.