KImbra always sings well, but it is in the slower-paced pieces that her voice is at its most varied and expressive - and perhaps reveals the most of herself. And with its African-inspired rhythm and chant, not to mention a vocal that is almost a rap, it’s not quite like anything Skrillex or Kimbra has done before. There’s a roll-call of co-writers, the most high-profile of which is probably Skrillex, the American electronic dance producer, with whom Kimbra wrote ‘Top Of The World’. Her chief ally here is John Congleton, the former indie-rock producer who oversaw St Vincent’s breakthrough self-titled album. Yet in many ways Primal Heart a collaborative project too. It may not be a million miles in tone from that Gotye hit, and yet it proves beyond doubt that Kimbra Lee Johnson is more than capable of crafting her own hooks. Primal Heart, Kimbra’s third album, opens with ‘The Good War’, an expansive pop ballad built on loops of synthesiser and percussion, with wordless vocal phrase - which sounds like an idea for a tune hummed into a Dictaphone - becomes the driving motif of the whole song.
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