Review Summary: Not an awful lot has changed, but I'm not complaining
I don't really want to open the review this way, but I'm finding the longer I sit here staring at this blank page that I'm pretty much out of other options. Life's always changing, that's a pretty easy admission to make. People grow older, your surroundings change, and you find yourself in different, sometimes unfamiliar situations all the time. Sounds understandable enough, right? Hell, it's so simple to grasp and obvious to note that I really, really tried my best to avoid even bringing it up, it's right there in the title of the album after all.
But then I realised that's the thing about
Something's Changing, it's such an obvious album, especially from an artist like Lucy Rose. Having established her place in England's contemporary folk scene with her melancholic tales of reminiscence, it's just so obvious that she would continue to grow this sound, especially considering that it wasn't broken. It shouldn't take very long, being familiar with Rose, to realise when listening to
Something's Changing that the reference to change in the title is not necessarily a musical one, more a thematic one. However that's certainly not to say that Rose has let anyone down with this album.
If anything, this solidifying of an already well-established sound makes this her strongest release to date in many ways. While it may not make for anything particularly refreshing or exciting for someone already acquainted with her music, the confidence in its execution is more than rewarding enough.
Something's Changing boasts excellent production value and consistency. Suitable instrumentation is always there to support Rose's staple girl with a guitar schtick which, despite her immaculate voice, would otherwise be a horse long dead by now without the accompaniment. While that might sound like a cynical jab, it's actually more a compliment to Rose's talent as a songwriter that she still has something to offer amongst a sea of contemporaries, of which she is a considerably new addition to, that are doing pretty much exactly the same thing.
As mentioned earlier, Rose's music has always had a decidedly maudlin colour to it, generally reflective of times and relationships past and
Something's Changing more or less gives off the same sentiment. Though thanks to Rose's persistence in developing her own sound, the music and lyrics never particularly strike as being melodramatic, there's a definite sense of progress, like the protagonist is getting past these things one day at a time. Standout cut "Soak it Up" brings an encouraging feeling of support and reassurance against otherwise trying circumstances. The timbre of Rose's voice and her harmonising is absolutely outstanding on this track, and the accompaniment from the guitars is colourful and vibrant, with clever variation. It must be said though, that there are a couple of moments of questionable musical decisions to be found in places, such as the odd change in tempo at the end of "Love Song" that leaves an otherwise affecting song with a rather sickly sweet aftertaste.
Lucy Rose will mostly fail to disappoint with
Something's Changing. The album is the sound of a hard-working artist finding continually-growing confidence in a now firmly established sound. However, those looking for Rose to push herself into new territory with her sound will probably be disappointed.
Something's Changing is the album that Lucy Rose was obviously going to come out with, but thankfully, also the album she
should have come out with.
