"Boosted by a win in the BBC Sound of 2020 poll, and her single A Little Love appearing on the John Lewis Christmas ad the same year, her debut album Not Your Muse entered the charts at No 1, spawned two big hits Stop This Flame and Strange and ultimately went gold. That's the perfect starting place from which to make a second album: success, acclaim and attention, but not on the kind of overwhelming scale that seems ultimately paralysing,"
"It's hard not to think of that remark when you listen to Woman of Faces. It's far from a fanbase-confounding left turn a Metal Machine Music for the jazz-inflected pop-soul set but nor is it hugely commercial. Its sound manages to be both sumptuous and stark. Its opulence results from its orchestrations and modern classical flourishes the piano introduction to People Always"
Celeste achieved major early success: a BBC Sound of 2020 win, a John Lewis-ad single, and a No 1 debut album that produced hits and went gold. Expectations for a straightforward second record were high because the debut provided acclaim without overwhelming pressure. The creation of Woman of Faces encountered significant internal friction, including disputes with producer Jeff Bhasker and rejected string arrangements by Robert Ames. A public Instagram protest accused the label of insufficient support and of pressuring inclusion of two specific songs. The album's music balances sumptuous orchestration and modern classical flourishes with a stark, not overtly commercial, aesthetic.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]