Loyle Carner's 'Not Waving But Drowning' Review by Gabriel Dedji

Loyle Carner, one of the most exciting jewels of London’s music scene, wields a rapping style that sounds like a cross between the confessional honesty of Adele, the carefree flow of De La Soul and the ingenious wordplay of Common (if you don’t know who the last two are, you’re missing out). The artist’s unique qualities are what saw him being nominated for both NME and Mercury prizes in 2017.

Loyle Carner took the name of this album from a poem by Stevie Smith- who speaks on the album- about a man whose friends thought he was waving at them from the sea whilst he was drowning (I’m infatuated with concept albums). Smith brilliantly twists this depressing tale into an analogy of how people who are suffering mentally often look jolly even though they’re figuratively drowning in their problems. Listening closely to the lyrics on this album, I’m astounded by the rapper’s incorporation of this idea into his approach. The instrumentals (composed mostly by Jordan Rakei, Tom Misch and Kwes.) literally sound like summer: the stunning drumming on ‘Angels’ and Jordan Rakei’s harmonious vibraphone on ‘Dear Jean’ bring a smile to my face. However, the rapper mainly focusses upon solemn and upsetting matters throughout (which allows him to display his spectacular lyricism). You can hear it on the track ‘Carluccio’ where he mourns the death of a famous chef, or on ‘Looking Back’, a song about racial issues.

Loyle and his features Rebel Kleff (AKA Krispy) and Kiko Bun shine together on ‘You don’t know’. Carner and Kleff are both able to deliver equally splendid verses over a terrific head-bopping 90’s hip hop style instrumental whilst Kiko Bun facilitates the perfect atmosphere with his soulful chorus. In fact, this is one of many tracks where Carner and his features create a sound that so entertainingly calls upon a 90’s hip hop influence. Loyle Carner definitely chose his guests well, especially on ‘Desoleil’, which exhibits a thrilling contribution from R&B singer Sampha. This is one-of-three songs where I feel that the guest possibly outshone the host (‘Angels’ and ‘Ottolenghi’ being the other two). Loyle’s mother is the most heart-warming feature. Her poem on ‘Dear Ben’ ponders her son’s growth and celebrates the progression of his relationship with his girlfriend. The audible delight of the rapper at his mother’s eloquent reflections are the perfect conclusion to a pleasantly cohesive project of poetic monologues.

Looking at this album from the outside, you see/hear all the wonderful production and immediately think of nostalgic summer days in the blazing sun. In reality though, this is a sombre confession where Carner looks like he’s waving in glee meanwhile he’s actually drowning in his troubling thoughts.

I give this album: ★★★½ /★★★★★

Not Waving, But Drowning’s tracklist

1.       Dear Jean

2.       Angel (ft. Tom Misch)

3.       Ice Water

4.       Ottolenghi (ft. Jordan Rakei)

5.       You Don’t Know (ft. Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun)

6.       Still

7.       It’s coming home?

8.       Desoleil (Brilliant Corners) (ft. Sampha)

9.       Loose Ends (ft. Jorja Smith)

10.   Sail Away Freestyle

11.   Looking Back

12.   Carluccio

13.   Dear Ben (ft. Jean Coyle-Larner)

Genre- UK Hip Hop, Neo-soul, Jazz rap, Spoken word