Album Review: Olivia Dean - 'Messy'
‘Messy’, the deeply-personal debut album from Olivia Dean, capturing her growth as an artist into an unstoppable force.
Released on June 30th via EMI, the 12-track record deals with topics of life, love, and family, and demonstrates Dean’s ability to convey so much emotion through her lyricism and heart-warming vocals. Messy encompasses the feeling of constantly growing, not being able to stop life progressing, but still finding peace within that. The tracks capture the difficulty and change that growth brings, communicating how Dean finds herself through the creation of music.
“I hope it makes people feel okay to not have their shit together. And to accept the imperfections in their life for what they are, and just let things play out and see what happens… to just be an open person, and be forgiving.”
Featuring previously released singles ‘Dive’, ‘Danger ', ‘UFO’ and ‘Carmen’, the album arrives with much anticipation from audiences within the UK and the rest of the world. Combining genres of soul, pop and jazz, Olivia Dean continues to use her unique style, and proves with Messy that she is capable of creating genre-bending music. Allowing the process of songwriting to take its own course, experimenting with different themes and sounds, she has created a beautiful piece of work showcasing her true talents.
“It's funny because I think it’s the most fine-tuned I've got my sound to be, but also the most carefree I've been in actually making music… some of it’s quite vulnerable but it was just made out of pure fun and joy and unbotheredness. And I think I’ve done a good job with calling it Messy because if anybody says it’s all over the place I’ll be like, yeah!”
Raised in Walthamstow on artists such as Al Green, Steely Dan, Angie Stone, and her dad’s love for reggae music, Olivia incorporates these sounds into her music, expressing the importance of family history. Opening with the track ‘UFO’, Dean uses soulful vocals, inspired by her history within the genre, with soft and ethereal instrumentals, to gently introduce the album. The upcoming Pop/Soul artist has been praised for her down-to-earth vocal style on three previous EPs, Ok Love You Bye, What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays? and Growth, so opening with a track that perfectly encompasses this style was a fitting decision for Messy.
Moving onto ‘Dive’, the third single released for the album, Dean sings about allowing herself to fall aimlessly into a new kind of rhythm and love. Accompanied by a video filmed in Hastings, which includes Dean strolling joyfully through the streets and eventually running into the sea, the events of the video emulate the freeing sound of the song. A freeing sound also is captured with ‘Ladies Room’, written about an encounter in a women’s bathroom at her local pub. With its contagious rhythm, easing into the record with style, ‘Ladies Room’ represents the excellency of the record's soul-filled production.
A definite highlight of the album arrives with ‘Dangerously Easy’, starting as a piano ballad full of emotion, seamlessly building into a release of guitar instrumentals accompanied by Deans’ all consuming vocals, that we can never get enough of. Using different styles throughout the record was the perfect opportunity for Dean to capture new audiences in terms of genre, whilst always staying grounded with her vocals, which is apparent in ‘Dangerously Easy’.
“There's a vocoder and guitar Imogen Heap-thing and then there's Motown Diana Ross-mode. And the last song’s this kind of orchestral thing. It’s just a whole mix. Because why not? I feel like this album is a big fuck you to genre.”
However, Dean transitions the different styles of songs perfectly, with different sections of the album having certain essences. ‘Getting There (Interlude)’ is the perfect lead up to previous single ‘Danger’, a fun release of inhibitions and fear of being in love for the long haul. Dean also writes about the importance of the small things in life, about simply existing, with ‘I Could Be A Florist’. She writes on kindness, the nature of human-beings, and connection through heartfelt lyrics. The ultimate track on the album is ‘Carmen’, an ode to Dean’s grandma and the Windrush generation. It's a love letter celebrating the cross-culture that the Caribbean community created in the UK, and family history.
‘You transplanted a family tree, and a part of it grew into me.’
The song starts with the voice of her Grandma recalling the first time she traveled on a plane, moving to the United Kingdom from her home country of Guyana at the age of 18. ‘Carmen’ shows the wholesome relationship between Dean and her Grandma, sweetly bringing the album to an end with its orchestral sound and imagery.
With Messy, Olivia Dean expresses her ability to stay true to herself, creating genre-fluid tracks with themes of love, loss, and most of all, mess. She showcases her songwriting ability and creativity, and has released a strong debut-album, honoring her life and history.
Words by Amelia Garrett
