Laura Mvula - Pink Noise
Critic Score
Based on 18 reviews
2021 Ratings: #37 / 753
User Score
Based on 484 ratings
2021 Rank: #322
Liked by 47 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Arts Desk

What Mvula does brilliantly is the way in which she juxtaposes highly distinctive blocks of material – the music can switch from a nasty bass synth line to a huge, all-enveloping pad in the blink of an eye.

100
DIY

Punchy, fun and beautifully constructed, ‘Pink Noise’ is the triumphant sound of Laura Mvula finding her feet. A career-defining return that most artists can only dream of; pure synth-pop ecstasy.

91
Entertainment Weekly

Pink Noise revels in the freedom of moving beyond stress for something peaceful, adding yet another layer to Mvula's already-rich tapestry of sound.

90
The Line of Best Fit

All in all, Pink Noise is a roaring success for Mvula’s reinvention. It’s a joyous celebration of her past, her present, and all the success that is to come in her future. Laura Mvula is back, and she’s not going anywhere.

90
Clash

An effervescent, sparkly collection of ten songs guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

80
Mojo
Mvula is a gifted arranger with a distinctive cri de coeur, and this is where she soars.
80
Evening Standard

The Birmingham musician’s third album is a Dayglo fiesta of elastic analogue synths, plastic horn stabs and bold funk basslines.

80
Gigwise
One thing that shines through is that Mvula sounds like she’s enjoying herself - as if she’s making the music she wants to make, not the music she thinks she should be making. And it’s something that we can enjoy too.
80
The Observer

With all this shiny surface comes depth, too – the hard-won emotional content of these songs is all Mvula’s own.

80
The Independent

Occasionally, the meandering nature of Mvula’s song structures can leave you grasping for more melody, but the moods she creates are always clearly defined.

80
The Skinny
Describing it as the album she’s always wanted to make, it’s no wonder Mvula sounds so comfortable.
80
NME

‘Pink Noise’ is steeped in liberation, not bitterness – it isn’t just a heartening comeback, but an absolutely sparkling pop album.

75
Under the Radar

Pink Noise offers up a new, much more approachable angle to Mvula’s music, whilst remaining very notably her.

70
The Forty-Five

Call ‘Pink Noise’ a break-up album if you like, though really, it’s more of a power move: dazzling instead of caustic, triumphant instead of sour.

60
Loud and Quiet
It’s not always that cool, but it at least sounds as if she’s letting her hair down and having fun.
BaddieBaphomet
60

I was originally going to give this a higher rating since I do think there’s a lot of solid qualities about this record. But while Laura Mvula gave me plenty to be entertained by during my first listen of this album, it’s when I was reflecting on this record after the fact and during subsequent listens that I realized that I didn’t enjoy “Pink Noise” as much as I initially thought.

This is my first time hearing of Laura Mvula, and when I came in cold into ... read more

Maqtheus
70

A progressão de ritmo em 'Pink Noise' é sem dúvidas, uma das experiências mais satisfatórias do ano.

Embora o revival oitentista venha perdendo adesão nesses últimos meses — diferente do pico estabelecido ano passado por artistas como Jessie Were, Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Róisín Murphy e outros —, Laura Mvula consegue se destacar trazendo uma abordagem parecida, porém, cheia de identidade.

'Pink Noise' é ... read more

marvelgaryen
96

What a flashback!

An album constructed in the synthpop 101 universe couldn't be bad even if she tried really hard. There is so much I love about this record, from the start till finish I enjoyed every fucking second. I wanna thank Dann Hume and Laura personally for producing this entire masterpiece, every single song is a hit. From Michael Jackson to Madonna, Janet Jackson, Grace Jones and every other 80's reminiscent artist you can tell Mvula really dig in the decade and took every single ... read more

AP__Music
70

From the first listen this album has been a ray of sunshine in a very muggy week. There’s a range of good pop songs, and another appearance from Uncle Simon, in a very different more boring way this week. Safe passage is an enjoyable opener that sets out the festival vibes that I have no doubt would feel at home in the early afternoon on the Pyramid stage. A massive 80’s synth vibe going on here, almost a follow up to Princes’ sound. The production is fantastic, everyone more ... read more

SoundX_
84

Laura Mvula queria que seu terceiro álbum fosse sexy. “Eu queria que fosse. Eu precisava que ele fosse”, disse ela ao Apple Music. Para Mvula, seus dois primeiros álbuns, Sing to the Moon, de 2013, e The Dreaming Room, de 2016, nasceram de um desejo de levar a música a sério, mas talvez sério demais. “Eu tinha ficado tão à vontade com tudo sendo tão focado na música, como se fosse sua própria coisa, e de ... read more

72

Nice

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Track List

1Safe Passage
3:12
75
2Conditional
2:49
78
3Church Girl
3:45
81
4Remedy
4:02
76
5Magical
4:12
75
6Pink Noise
3:29
80
7Golden Ashes
4:09
72
8What Matters
4:08
72
9Got Me
3:26
77
10Before The Dawn
4:21
79
Total Length: 37 minutes
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Added on: March 16, 2021