Album Review: Joan Armatrading, How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean

Still resolutely ploughing her own music furrow at the age of 73 (she turns 74 in December), singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading wrote, produced, programmed and engineered the dozen songs that make up this LP. However, another pair of critical ears in the studio may have been welcome. While Armatrading hasn’t lost any of her songwriting ability, the production drags the enterprise to the middle-of-the-road and keeps it there.

The melodies at the heart of songs like ‘25 Kisses’, ‘Someone Else’ and ‘I’m Not Moving’ are easy on the ear, but a little too polished and safe, rendering the songs a somewhat beige in the process. Like some of Leonard Cohen’s noughties releases, which played around with instrumentation instead of letting the master’s voice take centre stage, the arrangements are very dating.

The strings and piano of ‘Say It Tomorrow’ have a distinctly ‘80s feel, as does ‘Redemption Love’, which is a real shame, because the song itself is lovely and her voice an impressive instrument. That voice gets lost amid the murky mix of ‘I Gave You My Keys’, where it frustratingly feels like there’s a great gospel-tinged stormer here just waiting to be set free.

The simpler sound of ‘Here's What I Know’, complete with gospel-type choral backing vocals, is better, and with the big, piano-driven ‘Irresistible’, Armatrading could have a late career hit on her hands.

6/10