Album Review: Lion Babe Begin

Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman were never going to end up selling insurance for a living. She’s the daughter of soulstress Vanessa Williams, he’s the son of downtown New York fashionista Ray Goodman. As Lion Babe, they build on this rich lineage with smart and provocative soul-pop, Hervey’s sassy warbling finding a perfect foil in Goodman’s bustling production.

Their debut album is arguably a little overdue, as Lion Babe first blew up all of four years ago with the much swooned over ‘Treat Me Like Fire’. It’s still one of the best things they’ve done – a thrilling meshing of Flying Lotus-esque funk burbling and vocals that communicate knowingness and vulnerability in the same heartbeat.

Rather than regurgitate their break-out moment, here they veer across the map, dipping into electro-pop on ‘Where Do We Do’, and new jack R&B on ‘On The Rocks’, a song that asks you to imagine TLC in their pomp covering Kraftwerk’s ‘The Robots’.

Throughout, slickness and experimental impulses circle one another uneasily. Far from a drawback however, the tension between Hervey’s glossy style and Goodman’s more obscure leanings give the record much of its power. Smartly, they have included ‘Treat Me Like Fire’ and, while their failure to match its stuttering majesty might be considered ominous, it demonstrates that, on their game, Lion Babe’s roar is mighty indeed.

Key Track: ‘Hocus Pocus’

7/10

Out Now on Domino