ALBUM REVIEW: Emma-Jean Thackray – Yellow

Movementt

Released: 23.07.21

Having already demonstrated the breadth of her musical vision on an eclectic range of EPs ranging from the dance-orientated Ley Lines to the astral freedom of last year’s Um Yang, Emma-Jean Thackray’s debut album Yellow is an impressive and expansive calling card for the latest talent to come off the London jazz circuit conveyor belt.

Bringing together Thackray’s gift for Sun Ra-esque big band arrangement and sublime funk with a new focus on songwriting over composition, Yellow is not entirely without missteps – lead single Say Something lands slightly flat – but for much of its running time, the record revels in its luscious arrangements and open-hearted sincerity, from the locomotive call and response of Venus to the golden hour chill of Golden Green.