Album Review/ Soul : Lady Nade’s ‘Identity’

Lady Nade is not your average soul musician. She operates in a prolific range, blending folk, soul, blues, jazz, and Americana with pop and indie roots. All of it, to create a spectacularly colorful sound. There’s so much dynamism. In both big and small ways. Her style doesn’t settle down into a predictable formula; but evolves and grows into spheres of music, language of her expression and the extension of the self.

Her latest release is her ‘Identity’ album. A fresh collection of music that is forged out of the artist’s lively imagination, value systems, sense of self and ideas about identity. It’s everything. It’s a music presentation that is explorative and rich. Really a labour of love. The ten track album forms with a fluid variance. Like a soul carnival, every song shines with so many musical flavors, from across time. 

Tracks like ‘One Of Us’ and ‘Waiting For A Train’ showcase so much of that retro soul stylings. Her vocals especially form with a natural soul style ease. Tempered with moments of modernity and lightness, these tracks are so well balanced and written insightfully. These tracks have a dallying pace that gets to be quite enjoyable. 

Even in tracks like ‘Identity’ and ‘Stand’, there are fun pick up rhythms and tempo additions. These are some of the impact tracks of the album. Especially ‘Identity’. However, the artist, while keeping it soulful and real, also knows how to carry it with a groove, with a rhythm that enhances the relatability of the message. 

To balance these groovy tracks out are mellow compositions like ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Powerless’. These are vocal intensive, especially powerless. Meant to just be about personal and intimate evocation, artist to listener, Lady Nade really pours herself into creating that relationship. These are such special track, so bare and so real, especially all the beautiful ways in which she carries her voice. 

Masks is a unique and distinctive track. A blues composition, one of its kind. It is cultivated so well, ebbing and flowing with honest vocals and artful flourishes. There are so many gossamer leaves of melody and warmth that you can feel absorbing into you. Ending the album with ‘Bloom’, the artist finishes off with a positive and bolstering route. It is such an empowering theme, especially the way in which she does it. Without feeling forceful, the artist holds your hard, with incredible warmth and takes you towards bloom. It’s the best thing ever! Check it out :)

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The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music! 

You can listen to ‘Identity’ by Lady Nade here -