Album Review: Kae Tempest - 'The Line Is A Curve'
Kae Tempest is an artist in the truest sense of the word, a musician, playwright and poet that posses a creative dexterity that seemingly knows no bounds.
Since releasing their debut album ‘Everybody Down’ in 2014, Kae has received extensive critical acclaim and has come to be revered within the British music scene as one of the most important and thought provoking creative voices of our time.
On their new album ‘The Line is a curve’ we see Tempest at their most honest and open yet. According to Kae, the record is “about letting go. Of shame, anxiety, isolation and falling instead into surrender. Embracing the cyclical nature of time, growth, love.” This sentiment is apparent throughout the release, musically sparse, the record sees Kae’s lyrics laid bare and given room to breath, allowing them to be truly digested and dissected by the listener.
At times the record feels like Tempest stepping out from behind a curtain, revealing themselves in a way that they have previously refused to. On ‘No prizes’, one of the lead singles from the album that features Ivor Novello winner, Lianne La Havas, Tempest exclaims “All my life people took my ideas, made their names off of me. But trust this, the more I look the more I see, there’s so much more I’m going to be” showing a new found desire to be recognised for their creative output, a desire that has been reflected both sonically and visually within the new record.
Discussing the album artwork Kae explained “I knew I wanted my face on the sleeve. Throughout the duration of my creative life, I have been hungry for the spotlight and desperately uncomfortable in it. For the last couple of records I wanted to disappear completely from the album covers, the videos, the front-facing aspects of this industry. A lot of that was about my shame but I masked it behind a genuine desire for my work to speak for itself, without me up front, commodifying what felt so rare to me and sacred. I was, at times, annoyed that in order to put the work out, I had to put myself out. But this time around, I understand it differently. I want people to feel welcomed into this record, by me, the person who made it, and I have let go of some of my airier concerns. I feel more grounded in what I’m trying to do, who I am as an artist and as a person and what I have to offer. I feel less shame in my body because I am not hiding from the world anymore”.
The record was produced by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey and features a incredible list of collaborators including Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten, Lianne La Havas, Confucius MC, ãssia and Kevin Abstract.
The new album from Kae Tempest is a record that is undeniable in it’s beauty and one that is reflective of an artist who is truly coming into their own. Best enjoyed when it is savoured and pored over, ‘The Line Is A Curve’ is undeniably Kae’s best and most raw release to date and one that marks an exciting future for one of Britains most prolific creative forces.
Words by Jordan Corrigan
