So many of the best albums of 2017 have come from British artists and almost just as many have been debut albums. In at number 21 just on the cusp of the top twenty is debut solo album from British artist, Loyle Carner with Yesterday's Gone.
When Loyle started coming up a couple of years ago he was everywhere - every festival line up, every typical venue for up and comers, every magazine - his promo was insane. Rightly so, his voice is so distinct, and it's the kind of typical London voice I wouldn't expect to say that about, but it's a voice that you could pick out of a crowd nonetheless. In those first few months where Loyle was everywhere I went along with the hype and really overdid it a little bit and so when the time came for him to release this debut, I thought that I was over it. The excitement had worn off and I was a little bit bored. But when I actually got round to listening to the record, it still surprised me. Even the singles that I'd already known and loved sounded refreshed in the context of the record.
Standout new tracks on this one for me are "No Worries" and "Mrs C". Old favourites of mine however have to be "Isle of Arran", "Damselfly" and "Florence". I overplayed "Florence" so so much when I first heard it and thought that when I got to the record I'd be bored of it but no, it's still an amazing track. One thing that always shines through in Loyle's music is his love for his family. He's definitely not the first rapper to rap about family but it's a clear theme in his music and his live shows and the way that he keeps it down to earth and authentic has set him miles apart from a lot of the "popular rap" buzzing around at the minute.
Being nominated for a Mercury on your debut album is no small achievement - however a lot of the artists to have that happen in the past (e.g The xx, Ghostpoet, Alt-J, etc) have gone on to huge things and still continue to put out quality work. I'd expect nothing less from Loyle Carner after this one.
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