Not that she doesn’t sound at-home on most of her other work but here, for the first time, there is an indescribable something in the pairing of voice and music that just pushes it to a whole other level. Her voice has always had a unique tone and, though she has never sounded out-of-place or lost on previous albums, on Food she sounds totally at home. The retro influenced sound of the record ensures each song fits smoothly into the album as a whole whilst also allowing each to be distinctly individual. Tracks like Breakfast and Forever Be are the closest link to her last album with their strong beats and jubilant atmosphere being reminiscent of tracks like 4 th of July and Acapella but the same uplifting tone also pervades more sedate numbers, like Floyd. On Change an almost demonic male chorus and a sinister bassline recall the snarling aggression of Kelis’ début single Caught Out There but, largely, Food is a more mellow affair. The genre brings a great flexibility to the arrangement and instrumentation, allowing her to lyrically explore a range of emotions and perspectives whilst, at the same time, delivering her most cohesive album to date. Surprising though it may be it, this is not an ill-fitting sound for Kelis, in fact, it sounds like a perfect match. Considering this is now a penchant shared by many of her new label-mates, and that the only tracks she’s released since 2010’s EDM extravaganza Flesh Tone, have been collaborative efforts with UK dubstep producer Skream, the acoustic-based retro-soul of Food may come as a surprise to many. Though her eclectic musical style has made her a difficult artist to pigeon-hole she has shown a penchant for electronic sounds. At least I’ve been fairly succinct for once :pĪlmost two months ago Kelis released her sixth LP, Food, her first on independent UK-based label Ninja Tune. Disclaimer – This is 700 words of way too much repetition but I can’t be bothered to edit it.