Lucy Spraggan is a singer, songwriter and all-round storyteller, from Buxton, England. She is most notable for her appearances on 2012’s series of X Factor. However, since then, she has built a huge, loyal following, from her debut, independent album release through to this, Choices, her sixth album. Here’s what we have to say about it…
Having recently gone through some significant changes in her life; a divorce, lost a significant amount of weight and become sober; there is a lot of material for Lucy Spraggan to write about throughout this record. Musically, it’s incredibly diverse too – this is an album that has a great deal to offer.
It all opens with the rather Western-sounding, ‘Flowers’, which sees Spraggan take on a more provocative tone than we’re used to. Having recently become single and lost three stone, she is keen to show that she’s not always about funny lyrics, but can be more sexy too.
Next comes the very singable ‘Roots’, which sees Spraggan tackle the topic of being unhappy about being told by many to lay down roots somewhere and do the “normal” thing of settling down. She very powerfully identifies this is not for her; for now she doesn’t have any roots and she’s happy with that.
Possibly one of the most powerful songs to ever come from her though, is ‘Sober’ – an acoustic-led track all about her decision to remove alcohol from her life – it’s beautifully honest and takes a real step back to assess her life.
Other tracks that really stand out include: ‘Run To The Hills’, a catchy and simplistic yet forthright song written about the falling apart of her relationship and wanting to get away from it all; ‘Heartbreak Suites’ was also written about the end of her marriage but candidly looks at how a relationship should not become a unit that revolves solely around each other, and in the process forgetting and losing those who matter to you; and ‘You’ve Let Yourself Down’ is a thoroughly different flavour from the rest of the album with its almost tropical house feel to it that I just can’t get enough of.
This is an album of diversity, both lyrically and sonically, and it’s just begging to be played on repeat.
That’s not to say the rest of the album is not incredible too – there’s ‘Animal’ with its Bollywood-style drums that are inspired by Spraggan’s love for working out to bhangra music; ‘I Spent A Night In The Desert’ – an ode to her best friends, that’s also wonderfully uplifting and then there’s ‘Run’ a song about metaphorically and physically running towards something she’s found that she was looking for. Also, ‘If I Had A God’ is an open discussion about what it would be like if she were religious and had a strong faith; it’s inspired by those devout Christians around her, however she has found a power within herself, rather than through an external God.
Title track, ‘Choices’ is a way of summarising the whole record really and sees Spraggan express her happiness at choices she has made and finding a new lease of life without being afraid to be herself – additionally, the harmonies are to die for and the acoustic-led backing track is stunningly intricate.
The album draws to a perfect close with the tale ‘Why Don’t We Start From Here’ – a song she describes as a sequel to 2013’s ‘The Tourist’ from her second album, Join The Club. It’s a song about taking a leap of faith to make a new start, whenever you want it, which is a real inspiration to others.
This is an album of diversity, both lyrically and sonically, and it’s just begging to be played on repeat. It’s exciting in every way and although a lot of inspiration is drawn from her divorce, there is something refreshing about the integrity of her writing and the fact that she has woven a diverse tapestry throughout the sound of the record too. This is a thoroughly strong release and makes for a truly engaging listen. I just can’t wait to see what she produces for album number seven!
Rating
‘Choices’ is out 26/02/21 and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://music.apple.com/gb/album/choices/1534375882
Choices on Spotify
Coming Friday 26th February 2021.
Flowers (Official Music Video)
Animal (Official Music Video)
Sober (Official Music Video)
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review! What do you think of the Lucy’s latest album? Are you as much of a fan as us? What would you rate it out of 5? Please leave your thoughts in a comment or via our social media.
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