In her debut album, “I Cry When I Laugh,” singer Jess Glynne sets herself apart from other pop artists by having her voice be the focus on top of electronics.
The British singer began her career by rewriting and singing a song, later titled “My Love,” for Route 94, after being approached by the producer. After that, she was approached by Clean Bandit to feature in their song “Rather Be.”
Both songs were very popular in the United Kingdom, but “Rather Be” had a very strong run in the United States as well. “Rather Be” won a Grammy Award for “Best Dance Recording.”
“Rather Be” is also included in “I Cry When I Laugh,” along with an acoustic version of “My Love.”
Having those tracks on the album was a nice reminder of Glynne’s claim to fame, and a way to make a connection from a popular song to the artist.
After the album was released, she scheduled a UK tour with John Legend. Then, Glynne discovered a polyp in her throat and had to cancel the tour. The surgery was successful, but she had to cancel dates at two music festivals in the UK to recover.
The order of songs in the album is great in that it places instrumental songs, such as “Gave Me Something” next to electronic-heavy songs such as “Hold My Hand.”
“Hold My Hand” was a single released from the album. It has a lot of distinct sections that are unforeseen because of how the song is unlike most of the pop songs on the radio.
Glynne’s strong vocals come from her low pitch of voice and her ability to belt the notes.
A song where this is highlighted is in “Why Me.” In the song, there is a section where all the electronics are stripped away leaving just instruments and vocals. There’s no heavy beat to hide behind, and it is perfectly executed.
The album was a great compilation of the different styles of pop music placed behind alto vocals. This lead to an unexpected, but welcome, listening experience that brought a change from albums where songs all sound the same.
5 / 5
