Loraine James – Gentle Confrontation

Loraine James lets us take a deep, nostalgic dive into the vulnerable innocence of her past with her third album Gentle Confrontation. 

A work of high sentiment and originality, Loraine carries her listeners into a world inspired by the avant-garde varieties of rock, R&B, rap and emo electronic; it’s kind of like music from an earlier era, when artists were free to roam around their playground mixing these styles of genres together with the outcome being shockingly refreshing to ears unspoilt by streaming saturation. The opening title track centres us with haunting, classically eerie elements whilst pulling towards a vortex of vulnerability, building on our emotions through atypical rhythmic jungle and glitchy broken beats moulded by repetitive vocals; from there, we’re strapped in for a diverse 16-track collection.

The use of Auto-Tune on the vocal parts of some tracks like ‘Let It Go’ adds a tenderness to her work, particularly as emotional, melodic piano sounds blend with contemporary drum pads and synths. Every track is stripped of its ego, allowing you to be in your feelings and away from the real world.