I do wish that albums like this were not saddled with the label ‘retro’ because it reduces what is, in this case, an outstanding piece of work. All that an artist is doing in producing music with this much analogue style warmth, is treating soul music with the respect it deserves and taking the trouble to do the job properly. Soul music is all about feel and vibe, at its best it should move both your heart and feet and the magic way this style of music connects with people is down to its human element. Its roots are in Gospel and that big church sound is something that clearly resonates with Lady Wray, driving down this road for a while now having initially broke through in the late nineties via Hip-Hop and an audition for Missy Elliot who, in those early years, was Nicole Wray’s Svengali figure. Over the years though she has been pushing hard to find her own voice and it has led us to this, her most fully realized album to date singing about her own life (she gave birth only shortly after this albums completion) with a sound that feels like her very DNA pouring into the grooves.

The album flies straight in with ‘I Do’ and its unexpected bass funk pillars, sudden bursts of gospel backing chorus on speed, vintage trumpet wallpaper and a commanding Lady Wray riding the waves testifying “nothing can trouble these waters.” It informs the listener nothing will be predictable within the oncoming record. ‘Through It All’ kicks the door down with a real uplifting pop style chorus while the bedrock of the track has a kind of used vinyl rawness, it sounds like hip-hop sampling even though it is surely a new track. The LP title song displays the depth of creation in these initially quite simple sounding, instant whip masterpieces. ‘Piece Of Me’ is a song about trying to find enough of yourself for the loved ones who need a lift, an ear or words of advice and encouragement. The vocal itself bleeds with compassion but there is far more layered into the Leon Michels production; flute embellishments bring a natural breeze, there is a pensive heartbeat of a bass whilst echoing piano chords summon up spirituality and as Wray sings “I let you take a piece of me, I hope you get the piece you need” a wrecking crew style guitar part sits just underneath the voice in perfect accompaniment. This is just so classy, right down to the little intervals where the music breathes as everything other than the bass and drum fall away for a moment.

There are some tracks, such as ‘Come On In’, that were developed out of live studio jamming but the important detail is that everything here was worked up into a fully developed song. ‘Where Were You’ is an out-and-out modern R&B classic. With a lyric that asks where an acquaintance was hiding while the singer endured hard times, refusing to sugar coat the turmoil she experienced; “drinking wine in my room all alone, I need a friend, I need a dog, I need a loan. Dreams come true but not for me, you went and kept it all for you. Where were you when I was just sleeping in cars?”. It opens with ten seconds of drumming, setting up a swinging soul beat that does not relent, before a full-blown assault of electric keyboard trills, dramatic melodic string strikes, a piercing fuzz guitar, backing vocals demanding an answer to the question “where were you?” all merely supporting Lady Wray’s emphatic appreciation of the good times she finds herself in. ‘Games People Play’ has a similar feel of time-honoured treasure about it, reflecting on the “silly shit you do when you’re young”. All the way though, this is a standout record in which Lady Wray fully expresses the avalanche of music ideas she possesses, a collection proving the best things really are worth waiting for.

Buy a vinyl copy of the album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/21903340-Lady-Wray-Piece-Of-Me