Album: And The Bass Is Queen
Artiste: Lindsey Abudei
Duration: 50 minutes
As the voice sink through your ears, and bypass your brain into your heart, unfiltered and probing, you begin to understand that you have found sonic home…and only with your soul can you embrace this queen…
is a debut LP from Lindsey Abudei, the Nigerian singer and songwriter, who have until now rested on the far corners of Nigerian music, seldom venturing into the center of the conversations to show her art. An EP titled “Brown” in 2013, was her last body of work, which did push her name through certain circles, but she had to rely on collaborations with Jesse Jagz and M.I Abaga, to have the sun shine on her star.
In 2016, she finally becomes the sun, as her debut LP, “And The Bass Is Queen (ATBIQ)” finds Nigeria mired in a year that has truly lacked in sufficient mainstream quality, and divergent sounds. Neo-Soul, her chosen genre is packed full into a 50-minute long, enticing and stimulating body of work.
Immersing and without fault, Lindey promotes her emotions with backed by the plucky strings of a guitar, in tandem with other percussion-providing instruments. Melancholy floats on ‘Drift’, ‘Out in the magazine’ delivers true knowledge propped by the piano and a haunting violin. Angst is a recurring theme on the album
Love and all its pangs are properly documented on this LP. Through ‘Libra man’ she unburdens her uncertainty and disinterest on a love interest, betraying her innate state of angst and unease, but masking it as rejection. ‘When you don’t drive me mad’ finds her stuck in a polarizing love. She yearns deeply for some of it on ‘High’.
Decoupling her heart from her emotions result in something more elemental and bigger than her. ‘Freedom and I’ is a melodramatic push for existence, thriving, and everything survivalist. “Did you mean we will not die, we will learn to live together…”, she screams. ‘Scream at the sun’ follows a similar route. In ‘Home’ she rests from her troubles and angst, finding comfort in the ethereal. The strength she draws from that helps her deal with her fears and ‘Shoot them down’. ‘Apologize’ is the most meta song ever released.
“And The Bass Is Queen (ATBIQ)” is a singer-songwriter’s album, with songwriting taking prominence over the simple arrangements of the production. The drums, guitars, piano, violin, and syncopations all fall down for the vocal prowess of Lindsey. Songwriting is the core focus on this, with imagery and poetic license lending the lyrics an immersive feel. Lindsey makes a claim for more than she is, and her new album supports her with substance.
Ratings 4/5
Ratings
1-Dull
2-Boring
2.5-Average
3-Worth Checking Out
3.5-Hot
4-Smoking Hot
4.5-Amazing
5-Perfection