Zero Grace

Born in Nottingham with an English mum and Jamaican dad, Liam Bailey grew up listening to reggae, soul and rock – to Dillinger, The Supremes and Hendrix – and all those childhood influences can be found in his melodic, wide-ranging and sometimes quirky songs. He has had a lengthy and colourful career that has included recordings for Amy Winehouse’s label, but he now seems happy to stick with the New York producer Leon Michels who worked on both this and his debut album, Ekundayo, four years ago. It’s tempting to describe Bailey as a reggae artist, as that’s what he does best and is the style that dominates many of his best songs. But he has a very individual reggae style. It ranges from the light, bubbly, soulful and tuneful ‘Sekkle Down’ to the cheerful ‘Dance With Me’, which mixes retro pop with reggae and soul. Then there’s the personal, intense, reggaeton-influenced ‘Mercy Tree’, with its memories of racism from his childhood, and the upbeat and melodic ‘Canary in the Coal Mine’. Elsewhere he switches to rock, with unremarkable guitar riffs on the opening two tracks, but twanging guitar and more pained childhood memories on the rough and ready ‘Disorder Starts at Home’, and a grand, melodic ballad ‘Winter is Within Thee’. An interesting set – but skip those first tracks.