Critiques CD: Lianne La Havas | Is Your Love Big Enough?

Nominated for BBC’s Sound of 2012 poll, the U.K.’s latest smoky-voiced sensation finally crosses the pond. Sure, our British counterparts have anointed a number of soulful female vocalists over the years (Sade, Corinne Bailey Ray, VV Brown, the ubiquitous Adele), so we’re reasonably weary about all the built-in hype for Lianne La Havas’ debut. (For instance: Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon was so impressed with her that he requested she open for his band’s last North American tour!) Thankfully, the 22-year-old London songstress’ breathy, jazzy-inflected soul lives up to its initial promise. And then some. Make no mistake: the charming La Havas is no power-belting diva. Her delicate voice is understated and restrained when it needs to be (as on beat-busting goodbye ditty “Forget”), and she goes big when the arrangements call for such bombast (the titular track, with its swelling, handclap-assisted choruses, is perhaps the finest example). There’s self-aware humour (“Age”, about falling for a man “old enough to be my father”), heartfelt piano ballads (“Gone”) and the occasional vocoder effects to complement her husky vocals (“Don’t Wake Me Up”). La Havas is musically sophisticated and shows great lyrical maturity, singing about love’s endlessly unique manifestations. Adele, watch the throne.