The hype for Neneh Cherry’s upcoming solo album—her first in 18 years—has been building for quite some time now. As we near Blank Project’s release date (Feb. 25th in the U.S.!), we’re getting another preview of the album by way of its closing song, “Everything.” The over seven-minute-long track is the slightly more subdued sister to the previously heard title track of the album, “Blank Project,” with both songs sharing Cherry’s primal energy and minimalist, slightly menacing production by Kieran Hebden (better known as Four Tet).
“Everything”’s lyrics feature lines like “Got my fingers in my ears I can’t hear you / What I don’t hear, can’t upset me,” a visual that corresponds with Blank Project‘s cover photo. At other points it sounds like Cherry is sort of speak-singing off the cuff, with lines like “Shallow water midget mountain high/ Beep me up trust me I’ll hold you down.” The repeating refrain “Everything is everything, good things come to those who wait” is often wrung into different melodies or cadences by Cherry’s rhythmic, poetic singing.
Four Tet outfits the song with a deeply reverberating, viscous bassline that contrasts Cherry’s bright yet raspy vocals. If Cherry’s lyrics and vocals are the song’s soul, Four Tet’s production is its pulsating, almost mechanical heartbeat. As the song comes to its end, Cherry breaks out in a staccato yell that soon turns into passionate, visceral “yeah yeah”s and “hey hey”s, with some laughter thrown in for good measure. Her vocals are cut out for the last minute or so of the song, at which point it loses it’s ominous edge and becomes an understated, twinkling hum before fading away.
Listen to “Everything” below:
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