4/5
Wicked Wisdom
Forgive me not, but Cynthia Erivo is wicked good. In the same week that the terrific trailer for her highly-anticipated sequel to her smash hit movie, with fellow pop princess Ariana Grande ('Wicked For Good'), comes out, we get a brand-new studio album from Stockwell, London's finest. All on the same New Music Friday that fellow actor Finn Wolfhard, of 'Stranger Things' fame, tries his hand at making an indie album ('Happy Birthday'). You'd be forgiven for forgetting all about Lil' Wayne's sequel to his own series, 'Tha Carter VI', when there's so much movie-making going on. Only a few months after she was off to duet with The Wizard of Oz himself, Jeff Goldblum, like Grande, on the jazzy Mildrid Snitzer Orchestra, 'Still Blooming'. Erivo's epic is her first solo set since 2021's 'Ch. 1 Vs. 1', which peaked at number Luka Dončić (77) on the Billboard Hot 100. Figure this one to do even better numbers after the 'Wicked' soundtrack became a number one hit like the movie it underscored.
Defying gravity, once again, Cynthia is as compelling as she was in playing everything from the real as it gets Harriet Tubman (sorry, Julia Roberts' publicist), to 'Pinocchio's' Blue Fairy. The 'Widows', 'Bad Times At The El Royale' and 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' star has always had a voice. And as soon as the atmospheric and classic 'More Than Twice' comes into play, you won't think twice, like the great Celine Dion's voice. Cynthia Erivo is just that much of a powerhouse singer on 'I Forgive You' as pop continues to be in the pure place of pride that recent albums from Miley Cyrus and fellow actress Selena Gomez (with production partner and hubby to be, Benny Blanco) have proven. Spreading her black swan wings, like her gorgeous and glamorous nails and baring all in black and white, the angelic, shaven head singer gives us songwriting at its most stripped down and beautiful in this script.
Singles that 'Replay' like 'The Worst Of Me' (or 'Best Of Me' beginning), take the lead on the Verve of this 20-track Republic record, all the way to the 'Grace' notes that call it a day. Inspired interludes, akin to what the likes of Carl Thomas used to do, punctuate this collection (Annie Lennox's 'Why', 'Until You Saw Me' and the title-track), feeling like songs themselves, like the cover of Marin Gaye's 'I Want You', done with yearning decadence. Building 'Brick By Brick' in the chamber of the heart, Cynthia asks, "I'll apologise, I swear I will/But you first/I'll bring back your smile, your joy to fill/But you first/I'll turn a blind eye while with your beauty you beguile/But you first/But you." Honed for two years with songwriter and producer Will Wells, this sensual and sexual album takes cues off everybody from Toni Braxton to Prince as it unbreaks your heart like the beautiful ones. Smashing any picture, that 'Wicked' would be her green day, typecast success, Erivo previewed the likes of 'She Said', 'Why' and 'I Choose Love' at a London listening event to rave reviews.
Embracing and expressing everything about herself, not to mention the grand genres of pop, R&B, folk and gospel music, this album of the week may also be the most personal and profound part of Cynthia's career. The 'Push And Pull' comes with the likes of 'Save Me From You' ("I saw how you saw me when I looked in your eyes/The hurt that you buried in the grave of your heart/And I still remember the tears that you left/They live like a scar on my mind") and 'Play The Woman' ("Do you wanna start a game where I guess where you are?/I'll close my eyes, hold my arms out and try to close the space between us/I could run these hands of mine down the map of your spine/Feel how your heat against my fingertips could make the blood in me rush"). Outstandingly operatic. Agonisingly atmospheric. This is 'What You Want' in all the devoted dedications that make pop more mature and not just a global genre. It's a 'Holy Refrain' that reaches for the Holy Ghost to tell you that you'll 'Be Okay'. We all have dark days and low points. On 'How Could I Fall', Cynthia is with us, singing in solidarity "Laughter, you feel like laughter/Rolling around in this rapture/You're a singular delight, and I'm captured." Sometimes when we fall again, it's because we fall in love...and that's when we soar. What's gravity when the wings of an angel sweep us away? TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'More Than Twice', 'I Want You (Interlude)', 'Grace'.
Spin This: 'Wicked: The Soundtrack'.
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