A certain sassiness has been part of Neneh Cherry’s modus operandi since her days in the Bristol underground, before she became one of the 80s’ coolest pop stars. Although the title of Broken Politics – her fifth solo album overall – suggests buffalo stances and narrowed eyes, Cherry is actually in reflective mood on this second outing with Kieran “Four Tet” Hebden (the first was 2014’s Blank Project).
Sloganeering is limited to a snippet of the Last Poets’ Blessed Are Those Who Struggle. Instead, a sort of free-form, aching prettiness reigns. There are fractured beats, and tendril-like melodies, but here nothing really lands – as either protest or revelation. On Synchronised Devotion we learn that Cherry is a Pisces whose politics are “living in a slow jam” as Hebden strafes her with eastern-sounding bells. Elsewhere, on Shot Gun Shack, she delivers glancing blows to gun culture, and on the dubby Kong – a collaboration with Massive Attack’s 3D, an old friend from her Bristol days – the refugee crisis. But mid-album, Cherry and Hebden hit a very sweet spot indeed as Natural Skin Deep finally syncs Hebden’s rhythmic dub jazz and Cherry’s pop nous.
