For Kelis Rogers, ‘Food’ is more than just an idle theme to which an album can be tethered. In recent years she's branched out into culinary pursuits, becoming a Cordon Bleu-trained saucier, selling grub from her own truck at SXSW and fronting a cooking show back in the US. The idea of experimenting with flavour has become intertwined with her music on album six, which is suitably fit for a feast.
“Food has become such a way of life, sort of like what you listen to, who you’re with, what you’re wearing,” she recently told the New York Times. “My character comes through in my cooking.” Fortunately, the songs that comprise this collection are similarly imbued with that character. They are lush and enjoyably old-fashioned in their soul flourishes, with her collaboration with producer Dave Sitek proving to be a fruitful one.
As he has done with TV On The Radio in the past, Sitek has played a role in making ‘Food’ sound both contemporary and classic. Here the horns and subtle crackles reinforce the mood rather than distract with bells and whistles.
From this platform, Kelis delivers. Her vocals are gritty, her melodies pin-sharp and deftly deployed. Lyrically, she’s funny, outspoken, happy to shoot the shit or trade the odd barb. “Seems like no-one is surprising anymore,” runs the opening line of Floyd. “It’s not that I’m ungrateful, I'm just a little bored.”
From the rolling piano lick of Rumble, which along with Jerk Ribs, and its triumphant horn line, preceded the album, to the outstanding vocal performance of Forever Be, Kelis and Sitek have crafted an album of highlights. Hooch, a response to her divorce from hip hop royalty, Nas, is a brass-driven statement, powerful yet considered.
After a rare misstep on the David Guetta-produced ‘Flesh Tone’ back in 2010, Kelis has produced perhaps the best album of her career, and one that appears to offer more of her than we’ve seen during her shape-shifting past. ‘Food’ is, to fall back on cliché, utterly delicious.
Kelis Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 08 2014 - LONDON Wilton's Music Hall
Sat May 10 2014 - BRIGHTON Brighton Dome.
Mon July 14 2014 - LONDON Somerset House
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