Kwabs - Love + War

With only two EP’s under his belt, Kwabs has already managed to make an indelible impression across the board. Critics have singled him out as the front-runner of the neo-soul movement, and his singles have done the usual commercial circuit. It would be easy for him, then, to rest on his laurels, smooth out any idiosyncrasies and churn out bland soul/electronic music that would slot in nicely into any BBC Radio 1 playlist. Thankfully, with Love + War, his first LP, Kwabs doesn’t play the game. While tracks such as Walk and Wrong or Right are pulsating, heady and festival-friendly, the rest of the album pushes boundaries. Take the title track, which spends a good 40 seconds building up a shimmering layer of synths. Or, Father Figure – one of the album’s high points - which tentatively explores an absent father figure. Unlike some of his counterparts, Kwabs isn’t afraid to lay bare his emotions. The star of the album, however, is undeniably his voice.  Such is its range, it could be tempting to overwhelm the music but Kwabs manages simultaneously to restrain and showcase his smooth vocals; Sam Smith take note.