Calum Scott has at all times worn his coronary heart on his sleeve — that a lot we knew. However on ‘Avenoir’, the British singer-songwriter turns that coronary heart inside out, inspecting it underneath the brilliant mild of hindsight. Serving as his third studio album, and simply his most private but, the LP presents as a lush, cinematic confessional constructed from hovering melodies, midnight reflections, and the type of honesty that stings earlier than it soothes.
The title — borrowed from John Koenig’s The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows — means “the need that reminiscence may circulation backwards”. That idea frames the album’s emotional heartbeat: a tug between trying again and forging ahead, between regrets and timeless love, between what was, what may have been, and what nonetheless is likely to be. All through, Calum’s songs converse of sorrow and longing, but additionally resolve and hope.
From the slow-burn ache of ‘God Is aware of’ to the gut-punch honesty of ‘Die for You’, Scott’s voice stays his superpower — crystalline, commanding, and devastatingly trustworthy. The place his debut ‘Solely Human’ launched us to the voice that broke hearts, and ‘Bridges’ discovered him standing on firmer emotional floor, ‘Avenoir’ takes a daring step additional inward. It’s much less about survival now, extra about understanding.
Manufacturing-wise, the document feels cinematic with out shedding intimacy. The preparations swell and shimmer — string sections, gospel echoes, synth undercurrents — however they at all times depart area for Scott’s voice to breathe. Even the shock posthumous duet with Whitney Houston on ‘I Wanna Dance With Any individual (Who Loves Me)’ manages to keep away from gimmickry, reworking the traditional anthem right into a shifting, ethereal dialog between two eras.
There’s a maturity working by way of this document that units it other than Scott’s earlier work. The lyrics hit more durable — not as a result of they shout louder, however as a result of they whisper reality. He’s now not pleading for love; he’s making peace with its ghosts.
Ultimately, ‘Avenoir’ looks like each a full-circle second and a recent begin. Calum doesn’t reinvent himself right here — he refines himself. He leans into vulnerability, crafts his most cohesive physique of labor but, and proves that generally, trying backward is the bravest technique to transfer ahead.
Obtain / stream ‘Avenoir’ right here
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