Georgia's 'Seeking Thrills' album review: Former Kate Tempest drummer in beautiful throwback to 80s sound
Hailed as one to watch for 2020, the British singer-songwriter and musician has just dropped her second full-length album
Hailed as one to watch for 2020, former Kate Tempest drummer Georgia has just dropped her second full-length album, Seeking Thrills.
This record is an unashamed throwback to the 80s boom of keyboards and electric drums. This is clear from the start: opener Started Out has ethereal synth-chord stabs and slap-back delay vocals as she beckons, “I toughed up myself now/Kicked down the heartache/’Cause when we started/I don’t wanna lose you.”
In fact, the singer frontloads the album with some real bops, with pulsing synth-bass patterns, and new wave keyboard motifs are undeniably dancefloor fillers, then the urgent Never Let You Go which merges Metronomy-style synths with a La Roux-like delivery.
The densely layered arrangement of The Thrill make for another highlight, as do the bit-crushed chords of Feel It ringing out over intricate jungle rhythms.
Despite Georgia’s knack for punchy groove pop, it is the slower sounds of Ultimate Sailor which hit hardest. Channelling her inner Bjork, she cries out the touching lyrics, “I’d be the ultimate sailor/Travelling the world to you/Even when the day is through/I’d jump from the waves in high heels.”
Seeking Thrills really shows Georgia coming into her own, balancing synthesised instruments with a very human delivery – and it makes for an exhilarating listen.