Everything about the title suggests Jamie Lidell has found a strong sense of identity in his fifth studio album, and that proves to be the case, reconciling his love of soul and Prince with a tendency to experiment. He has become really good at telling stories in his songs, too, and that is a quality that informs ‘What A Shame, which is cool but wears a frown at the same time. ‘why_ya_why’ has a winning strut to it, while ‘Blaming Something’ is very Prince – but in a good way, not out of sheer imitation. This is the album where Lidell’s ‘80s sensibilities, of ‘upstairs in the club funk’, if you know what I mean, go straight in with daytime radio – and most of the time they come out smiling.
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
