Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth

In a ‘career’ of leftfield turns, this was His Name Is Alive’s bravest leap yet, an album of downcast, beautifully bruised modern R&B. Warren Defever’s production here achieves a new degree of clarity, possibly due to the genre focus of the album, but he’s also sensitive to offer the best framing for Lovetta Pippen’s voice. Really, she’s the star of the show here, and her gospelised soul singing is full-bodied and beautiful, particularly when in lamentation – on the deep, dark blues of the title song, and through the clouds of acoustic gloom that gather round yet another version of “Are We Still Married?”. It was an album that got lost in the mix – HNIA’s label, 4AD, didn’t really know how to market it – but for those who’ve connected with its eschatological power, it’s a low-key stunner.