Olivia Dean Debut Album 'Messy' Review

Olivia Dean, the 24 year-old with a new debut album, a Glastonbury performance behind her name and collaborations with Leon Bridges and Loyle Carner and a Jazz Cafe show.

The anticipated album comes after her singles ‘The Hardest Part’ and ‘Dive’ reached fans playlist’s. Olivia’s soulful vocals bring a new life to pop sound. She brings jazz instrumentations and acoustics back to life in the most ‘Olivia Dean’ way, effortless and utilising that Brit School talent. Showcasing the debut album at Scala in North London among a sold out audience, Olivia sang alongside her brass trio, pianist and drummer to the new tracks.

Her vulnerable lyrics bring listeners on a journey of what feels to be one of self discovery, independence and tribulations of growing pains through early 20’s. Performing ‘I Could Be A Florist’ on the piano, Olivia describes the song as a realisation that there are no limitations to what she could do if music wasn’t her path.

‘Carmen’ broke down the show to honour the story of her grandma’s journey to London, the sacrifices made to create a new life across the world and their relationship that inspired the track. The dedicated song was performed by Olivia with shakers in hand, echoed background vocals and trumpet motifs.

‘No Man’ features an orchestral chorus and string symphonies while Olivia’s voice explores a soulful expression of frustration and understanding in relationships. The song stands as a prime example of her modest and confessional story telling. The hybrid artist is not limited to one genre, producing songs for this album that feel like a conglomeration of the music she has been inspired by. Her performances signify her free spirit and openness to explore. Flocking around the stage, connecting to the instrumentations and feeling the crowd elevate the volume of sound from, Dean bounces off that energy to create an unforgettable experience for fans.

She veers away from conforming to the generic major pop sounds and infuses the album with gems from old school bass progressions to bongo drums. Olivia’s confidence in mastering the tracks has proven to work and it’s clear her goal is to create her own style, blocking out any external sounds that could influence.

Olivia encapsulated her audience with the album’s 39 million + streams hit ‘The Hardest Part’. She has an infatuating energy you can’t help but nod along to the beats, familiar with her music or not. There is a balance between the upbeat rhymes and minor chords that interchange between each track, notably the young artist has every ability to master jazz, soul and pop textures with her voice.

Her artistry is undeniably unconventional and ‘Messy’ in the best way. This album excels at depicting Olivia Dean as the melodic singer who creates music that you can listen to and still feel as optimistic about the next release.