Revolve Album Review

Release date: 16th October 2015

Published by Universal and Island Records

The second studio album from John Newman, Revolve is a safely played foray which continues to show off the singer’s strengths in vocals.

Newman shot to fame two years with 2013’s “Love me again”, a wildly popular track in the UK before releasing his first album, Tribute. Revolve is a highly extravagant album when compared with the more down to earth nature of Newman’s first album; this is shown by the glossy, vintage style of the album cover and the overall higher class of life that has been woven into each of the music videos. An introduction track by Idris Elba of all people relays the album’s focus on fast paced songs; there’s an element of motivation and determination that exists in the songs, especially with “Never give it up” and “Something special”. It’s a relatively straightforward theme accompanied by a few songs about love and romance that John has been known to home in on.

One of the biggest additions to John Newman’s repertoire with this album is backing singers; the choir used in some tracks adds an additional layer of depth that builds on Newman’s already strong vocals. Tiring game pairs the singer up with American R&B singer Charlie Wilson and their powerful voices play off each other brilliantly. On the opposite end of the track list, Killing me is one of the best compositions John Newman has ever produced; it seamlessly blends drums, guitar riffs and piano solos into a seriously funky beat that will get everyone up on their feet.

While some song compositions work really well, others feel a bit too similar to each other. “All my heart” for example is very direct in its execution as a fast paced piece of music, but it ends up hitting the same stride and beats as “Blame”, a song which Newman previously produced with Calvin Harris in September 2014. There’s also little in the way of more sombre tracks; “Out of my head” and "Losing Sleep" from Tribute were slower and highly atmospheric pieces that showed Newman could take a wider range of tones with his music. It’s a shame he didn’t push into this area further, instead the lone track from this field is “I’m not your man”, a really calming piece of music which strikes a solid contrast from the other tracks on the album.

Revolve is a mostly familiar album which continues to showcase Newman’s powerful voice without really breaking much new ground. Fans of the British singer will undoubtedly enjoy his newest album, even if it's not particularly ambitious in its direction or focus.

Rating: C