''Be Right Back'' is the third

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by British singer Jorja Smith. The record was released on 14 May 2021 by FAMM. Self described as a "waiting room" in preparation for her sophomore album, ''Be Right Back'' features writing and production from long time collaborators Joel Compass and Ed Thomas, amongst others, as well as guest vocals from British-Nigerian rapper Shaybo. Written and recorded over a two-year period, ''Be Right Back'' sonically adopts experimental song structures and lyrically revolves around the complexity of ideal womanhood, relationships and self-awareness. Upon its release, ''Be Right Back'' received generally positive reviews from critics who praised Smith's vocals and noted it as a worthy prelude to her follow up album. The EP was promoted with the release of three singles; "Addicted", "Gone" and "Bussdown".

Background

Smith described ''Be Right Back'' as a "waiting room" in preparation for her upcoming second studio album. ''Be Right Back'' was written and recorded over a two-year period (2019-2021), and was used by Smith as a way to give herself closure over numerous situations that happened during that two year period.

Music and lyrics

''Be Right Back'' is an eight-track set that takes influence from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, R&B and trip-hop. The album adopts unconventional song structure and was noted for its experimental production, seen by Kyann-Sian Williams of '' NME'' as "moving away from her traditional soulful and garage sounds." Robin Murray from '' Clash'' stated the album expanded on the "luxurious modern soul" of Smith's debut album with influences of British underground music described by Murray as a "London-centric Soulquarian vibe." Eric Torres of Pitchfork noted the album's musical style as being "contrasting", stating that Smith takes influence from hip-hop production, but focuses on "mellower, guitar- and piano-driven instrumentation." The album lyrics adopt a poetic style and discuss the complexity of womanhood, relationships and self-awareness. ''Be Right Back'' opens with "Addicted" a rock inspired song which features "wispy keyboards, a stuttering snare drum, smoky guitars" and was compared by Chris Deville of Stereogum to Radiohead. "Gone" features a 2 step production, with electro inspired drums, keyboards and Smith delivering her vocals in a "half spoken" style. Bussdown is an

afroswing Afroswing, also known as Afrobashment, or less commonly Afrobbean or Afro-trap (not to be confused with the French genre), is a genre of music that developed in the UK during the mid-2010s, derivative of dancehall and afrobeats, with influence ...

track that features guest vocals by British rapper Shaybo. Kyann-Sian Williams of '' NME'' compared the song to Smith's own "Be Honest" (2019). Shaybo's verse was noted as a departure from her usually aggressive rhymes, opting for a slower delivery. Lyrically the song discusses the juxtaposition between fame and happiness. "Home" is built over an electric guitar. "Burn" is a

song that features rhythmic bass', guitar and "rolling" vocals which were described by Eric Torres of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' as sounding on the "verge of tears." "Digging" is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

song with "angsty 80s pop" influences according to Kadish Morris of

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

. Candace McDuffie of ''

Paste magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fr ...

'' described the song beginning "with intriguing reverb and escalates to feel-good, cascading rhythms". McDuffie also described the lyrics as "existential" noting Smith's mention of heaven. The EP's closing song "Weekend" is an

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, hipster R&B, dark R&B, emo R&B and left-field R&B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and came to prom ...

song with a minimalist production and operatic singing that was compared to the work of

Willow Smith Willow Camille Reign Smith (born October 31, 2000), known mononymously as Willow (stylized in all caps), is an American singer and actress. The daughter of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, she has received various accolades, including ...

by Kyann-Sian Williams of '' NME''.

Release and promotion

''Be Right Back'' was released on 14 May 2021 to

digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sam ...

and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

platforms. ''Be Right Back'' was Smith's third extended play and first major release since Lost & Found (2018). Smith initially wanted to call the project "This Is Not My Second Album", telling Apple Music that ''Be Right Back'' was a collection of songs that she had written but were not intended for her second studio album. The EP was promoted with the release of three singles. "Addicted" was released as the first single to streaming platforms on 10 March 2021. Acclaimed by critics, the song peaked at forty-six on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "Gone" was released as the EP's second single on 19 April 2021. The song failed to chart on any major platforms but peaked at number twenty-nine on the UK Independent Singles Charts. The third single "Bussdown" featuring Shaybo was released on 13 May 2021 and peaked at fifty-six on the

Critical reception

''Be Right Back'' received generally positive reviews from critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 73, based on 7 reviews. Robin Murray of '' Clash'' described the EP as "immaculate", commending Jorja for "opening out her sound, and finessing her approach", noting that "she's only just getting started". '' NME'' critic Kyann-Sian Williams praised Smith's experimental vocals and the live instruments, and described ''Be Right Back'' as a "perfect prelude to her next chapter". Likewise Candace McDuffie of ''

'' felt the EP was a "promising" sign of what Smith's follow up album would offer stating "hopefully, the singer will experiment even further with more rich and upbeat tunes that will heighten the dynamism of her already-indelible voice." Eric Torres editor of ''

'' called Smith's vocals the "most appealing quality", noting her ability to use her voice to tap into "various emotional states." Torres summed the extended play stating "With stripped-back instrumentation and poignant emotion, the English singer's latest release is a stopgap EP that punches above its weight." Kadish Morris of ''

'' praised the extended plays rewind factor stating "Digging's angsty 80s pop rock energy and Bussdown's (featuring rapper Shaybo) subtle dancehall beat are nice enough to rewind, proving that this is more than just an ephemeral work." However Kadish believed the EP followed covered the "familiar ground" of ''Lost & Found'' (2018).

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

External links

*
Jorja Smith Previews 'Be Right Back' Project With New Song 'Gone.'
27 April 2021.

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

. {{Authority control 2021 EPs Jorja Smith albums