Lauded by the likes of Rolling Stone and The New York Times, Grace McLean has just let herself be known to us through the release of her debut album My Lovely Enemy.
By Graeme Smith
As well as penning and performing her own music, Grace is an actor, currently performing on Broadway as President Woodrow Wilson in SUFFS. If that wasn’t enough, she’s currently a Writer in Residence at Lincoln Center Theater where she writes her own musicals.
My Lovely Enemy is a collection of tracks about love and loss that give us a different slant on the relatable feelings. Written in a the wake of a breakup, the album sees Grace intellectualise the resulting emotions through some arrangements that sound like nothing I’ve heard before. Vocals are used as instruments in compositions that are as funky and catchy as they are experimental.
The album’s opener and title track My Lovely Enemy is a beautiful case in point. Grace’s vocals pour unobstructed through the verse before arriving seamlessly at its memorable chorus. All the while, tension builds, reflecting the uncertainty of the lyrics. It’s a breath-taking start.
Reckless follows with plucked strings, percussive textures and a Latin-esque undertone. If there was any doubt about Grace’s ability to write lyrics, they are already put to bed by the album’s second track. Albertine stretches the emotional range further with a slow and introspective number before Day Satisfaction rounds off the album’s early listening with a quirky take on the Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Take No) Satisfaction.
The album’s second half brings with it the soulful Gazelle, the brooding, bluesy Living Light and the pleading Haven’t You Noticed. Ocean Vapor is a rich and groovy highlight that introduces elements of pop before Everybody Loves wraps the album up with a defiant moment that brings with it a party atmosphere and some throwback R&B sentiments.
Grace McLean is a stunning discovery for me. Her sound is quite unlike anything I’ve heard before and she delivers astute lyrics with an assured and powerful voice. Her new album is up there with the best of this year for me.
My Lovely Enemy was produced and recorded by Justin Goldner, mixed by Jack DeBoe and mastered by Blake Morgan. It’s out now via Meridian/ECR Group (Sony). You can check it out below.
