New Albums
JOAN ARMATRADING
Melodic singer-songwriter’s recent renaissance continues
Consequences BMG
7/10
Joan Armatrading’s previous outing, 2018’s Not Too Far Away, was her first major-label album – and her first UK chart hit – in nearly a quarter of a century. Coincidentally or otherwise, Consequences is a notably confident-sounding record, Armatrading repeatedly performing her signature trick of producing soaring melodies that sound as effortless as sighs, especially on the upbeat confection “Better Life” and the gospelly devotional “Think About Me”. The sound overall is evocative of her commercial peak of the 1980s –a decade whose production tropes haven’t necessarily aged brilliantly, but which suited Armatrading’s expansive pop then and still do now.