On ‘You & I’, Rita Ora opens the door to the reality faced by many artists caught in the machine-like jaws of the music industry, using the skirmishes that have accompanied her massive chart success as creative fuel. The end result is a patchy collection that manages to neatly synthesise her battle to be heard with a sense of positivity taken from her relationships with her loved ones while often missing the mark musically.
Ora’s vulnerabilities are obvious from the very start with the remarkable opener Don’t Think Twice, which perfectly captures the risks you take in the early stages of a romantic relationship alongside some hard-hitting house melodies.
It is a winning departure from the pop and R&B fusion of her earlier work, while Praising You is also a highlight, incorporating a sample from Fatboy Slim’s 1998 mega-hit of almost the same name. Equally, the OAK-produced That Girl effectively integrates Sharam’s mid-2000s banger PATT (Party All The Time) in its monumental chorus hook.
By way of contrast, the Cirkut-helmed title track is one of the most heartfelt ballads on the record, stretching Ora’s impressive vocal range to its limits and shining thanks to a subtle synth melody injected into the chorus.
Elsewhere, Ora is on rockier ground. The introductory 30 seconds of Shape Of Me sound like a cheap rip off of Susanne Vega’s Tom’s Diner, and further along the road Look At Me Now, Girl In The Mirror and Notting Hill shove us into overproduced, characterless filler territory.
As a result, ‘You & I’ fumbles its chance to make a real statement, with the second half of the LP less poignant than the first. It’s a shame, because in Don’t Think Twice and the title track she has the quality to burst through some conspicuous cracks.
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