This is the sophomore effort from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter & rapper Eva Lazarus. Introducing herself in the summer of 2017 off a 3-track reggae/dub extended play called Amsterdam, she would follow this up with her full-length debut More Fyah& looks to take it’s solid reception even further by making Brandy Kisses the inaugural LP in the London imprint Melonskin Records’ catalog as well as having it’s co-founder producing it.
Dirty Dike of Contact Play blends some crooning vocals, finger snaps & pianos on the intro “Define Me By My Love” to get us started singing about feeling alive whereas “Empty Pockets” leans towards a soulful funk rock vibe instrumentally passionately letting this person know that they got plenty on her mind. “Mixed Messages” goes full neo-soul not to waste any of her valueable time just before “How Am I Looking?” embraces a moodier atmosphere confidently singing about feeling good.
“No Limits” makes a turn into a jazzier direction & even spits a quick rap verse at the backend of it always striving to aim higher prior to “I Prayed for You” stylistically stripping things back to address the very person she loves the most. “Lioness” someone has this g-funk quality to the beat ready to show everyone what she’s really been about while “I’m On My Way” ends the 1st leg of Brandy Kisses with an uplifting gospel-like ballad dedicated to loyalty.
The title track gets the 2nd half going singing about living the high life with no plans of slowing down instrumentally putting a tropical spin to things while “If You Ever Leave Your Girl” takes inspiration from neo-soul again, more specifically Erykah Badu in this case & hints of Zapp via Melonskin co-founder Pete Cannon using a talkbox. “Secrets” sings about a kind of love that’ll cause trouble over a synthesizer with some kicks & snares sprinkled in while “On God” much like “No Limits” explores her range as an MC a bit.
“Lessons” featuring Kofi Stone begins the 4th quarter with both of them teaming up for a marriage between R&B & hip hop expressing their desire to not fall down or go under while “Royalty” fiercely sings about all of her worries being cancelled & the sun shining on her got her feeling like a queen. “Flashing Lights” fuses elements of soul & jazz again professing that she’s been feeling happy in her skin while “The Party’s Over” cap off with this orchestrally soulful 5 minute outro singing that it’s too late for her.
It’s a great thing to me that Dirty Dike has started up his own label after being on High Focus Records for almost a decade, already signing Skuff & even Sleazy F Baby from the Cult of the Damned. That said: Brandy Kisses marks the beginning of a new era for both him & especially Eva Lazarus. The production’s more net-soul/contemporary R&B-inspired than anything Dirty Dike has done in the past, capturing his growth behind the boards whilst distilling Eva’s artistic versatility.
Score: 4.5/5
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