Broken Politics

AlbumOct 19 / 201812 songs, 46m 8s
Art Pop
Popular Highly Rated

Following the release of her first earth-quaking single in 4 years at the beginning of August, counter-culture pop icon Neneh Cherry announces her fifth solo album Broken Politics, produced in its entirety by Four Tet. Continuing her blurring and conflation of the personal and the political, the second single Shot Gun Shack tackles the link between violence and deprivation using poetic logic. The track deals with the ever-present and always-global issue of gun violence in society. The track's name was the result of inspiration that sprung from a half-remembered conversation Cherry had at the funeral of late jazz great Ornette Coleman. Broken Politics pointedly asks the question; how do we conduct ourselves in extraordinary times? In an era where the signal-to-noise ratio is more uneven than ever, what are the measures we must take to retain and remember our own personhood? It searches for answers, patiently and with great care, and with a fearlessness to acknowledge that sometimes the answers don't even exist. It’s a record that’s equal parts angry, thoughtful, melancholy, and emboldening, as Cherry and her collaborators continue to expand her ever-widening sonic palette to craft truly singular and potent music.

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7.3 / 10

On her second consecutive album produced by Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden, the ever-adventurous former pop star takes on the moment’s social upheaval by getting personal.

The undersung icon’s fifth album is an eclectic collection of personal and political songs, a reminder she remains a vital voice

Richard Ashcroft - Natural Rebel

“Buffalo Stance” hitmaker returns, going deep on a set with beat guru Four Tet and jazz swami Karl Berger.

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Neneh Cherry's fifth studio album, Broken Politics may not always seem like an urgent inquisition into our times, but it may encourage a sense of reflection.

8 / 10

Esteemed Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry has returned with her first LP in four years, a collaboration with partner Cameron McVey, an...

7.5 / 10

Neneh Cherry hasn't really scaled the heights of mainstream chart success since 1988's "Buffalo Stance." The '90s dawned and she side-stepped pop charts: choosing to experiment with jazz and funk on 1992's Homebrew and world music with 1996's Man.

8 / 10

Neneh Cherry first made mainstream waves in the 80s and 90s with cross-genre smash-hits such as ‘Buffalo Stance’ from award-winning

(Smalltown Supersound)

8 / 10

Neneh Cherry only emerges when she has something to say, granting an artistic purity to every release.

Cherry’s sage perspective weaves through these tender tracks, making it a beautiful and revelatory record

Album Reviews: Neneh Cherry - Broken Politics

8 / 10