''Gentle Confrontation'' is the fifth album by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based electronic musician

Loraine James Loraine James (born 18 December 1995), also known as Whatever the Weather, is a British electronic music producer and musician. Early life Loraine James was raised in an Alma Estate tower block in Enfield, North London. Her interest in music be ...

, released on 22 September 2023 through

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British electronic music record label and former webzine based in London, founded by Kode9, Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the l ...

. It was produced by James and received acclaim from critics.

Background

On 23 May 2023, Loraine James announced the release of her fifth studio album, along with the release of the first single "2003".

Critical reception

''Gentle Confrontation'' received a score of 84 out of 100 on review aggregator

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

based on four critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". '' Uncut'' called the album "a varied, disjointed, entirely unpredictable yet utterly singular record", and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' felt that "it's the emotional, cathartic journey of the chief protagonist that captivates the most". ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

''s Christine Kakaire wrote that James "uses chaotic arrangements and glitchy drums to express knotty, difficult-to-name emotions" on the album, which "sprawls, and each track settles into a distinct tonality". ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' called the tracks "vignettes of memory and emotion, which see her thoughtful production informed by IDM,

glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...

and electronic

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

. True to the album's concept, there's a charming bedroom maximalism" and concluded that it is a "lovely, affecting record". Patrick Gamble of '' The Skinny'' found that the "most interesting moments are those where James' voice takes centre stage" as she "take a scalpel blade to her discography, only to reassemble the pieces into a record that plays like a victory lap".

Accolades

Track listing

References

{{Loraine James 2023 albums Albums produced by Loraine James Hyperdub albums Loraine James albums