There's nothing restrained about an Alice Russell performance: It's emotionally fiery from the start and just gets hotter and grittier — especially when she's singing "To Dust," the title track from her first new solo album in almost five years.
Russell is a classic soul-infused singer — close your eyes and it's easy to hear a Southern drawl, but truth be told, she's a Brit. American-style R&B from Britain has a long history dating back to the 1960s with Dusty Springfield and on up through 21st-century artists like Adele. As for Alice Russell, she's been making great soul music for 10 years, and her arrangements on To Dust often include a dose of electronics.
To Dust is Russell's fifth album, but the hiatus that followed 2008's Pot of Gold may be the reason too many people don't yet know what she's doing. This stuff is as powerful as the work of any American singer making soul music in the 21st century. If you haven't heard of her yet, think of this as a well-overdue introduction.
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Producer: Bob Boilen; Editor: Parker Miles Blohm; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Gabriella Demczuk, Gabriella Garcia-Pardo, Marie McGrory; photo by Marie McGrory/NPR
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