Angel Haze: Dirty Gold

As anyone glued to Angel Haze’s 2012 Twitter knife-fight with Azealia Banks will recall, the Detroit artist isn’t one for going gently into the good night. Frustrated at her label’s dithering over when her debut album would be released, just a week before Christmas Haze made their minds up for them, posting the entire LP to her Soundcloud page. Just in case there was any doubt as to her motivations, she Tweeted: “sorry to Island/Republic Records but fuck you... you guys may just learn to KEEP YOUR FUCKING WORD.”

Was Haze justified in unleashing her music in such an unorthodox fashion? There is a lot going on throughout Dirty Gold – Haze is exceedingly eager to make a big commercial breakthrough – and the LP sees her trying a variety of sounds on for size. We are treated to a Beyoncé-esque duet with hit-maker Sia Furler (‘Battle Cry’), straight up r’n’ b heat-seekers (‘Deep Sea Diver’, ‘Sing About Me)’ and the occasional avant-garde foray (‘White Lilies/’White Lies’). Curiously, amid all the genre-splicing, the one missing ingredient is Haze’s personality. She bookends tracks with what sound like interview out-takes wherein she holds forth on the ‘meaning’ of her art. Otherwise, however, she comes across as anonymous – another bubble-gum siren obsessed with cracking the charts and little beyond.