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Simz has parted with long-time producer Inflo and has instead worked with Miles Clinton James on ‘Lotus’. Simz offers listeners a journey through truly feeling her betrayal and then how working through those emotions has culminated into a new version of herself both sonically and personally.
‘Flood’ opens with Simz “banging [her] drum in tribal mode”, plunging listeners into the heart of battle. Simz has built a motif of drums as resistance through her discography, particularly on her deeply critical track ‘X’ and continues the trend here; however, this time, instead of fighting against the system she takes aim at someone she considered a “day one”. Rumbles, echoes, and electric currents cut through the steady drumming, mimicking the stormy environment of the accompanying music video.
In stark contrast to the dark and formidable energy of the opening tracks, we have the playful and experimental ‘Young’. Simz lets loose and leans into the “young and dumb” energy on this track with a distinct new voice and cheeky persona. Simz has been hailed for her mastery of the pen with deeply “introspective” and witty lyrics (seen in ‘Free’ where she masterfully plays on different interpretations of the word ‘free’), but here her personality shines through with lyrics like “I’m a little teapot short and stout”. The ordering of the tracks from harsh and gritty into an unfamiliar but playful new style shows the progression of what ‘Lotus’ is at its core - not only as an album but as an ethos.
In the same vein of experimentation, there is ‘Peace’. While it doesn’t proclaim its difference as loudly as ‘Young’, the track is still of a newer variety for Simz with a stripped-back backing track of a piano and guitar. Additionally, Simz sings on this track, which she has said she had previously shied away from, showing her moving into more confidence. These more subtle changes show that - while she can - Simz doesn’t need to show off in order to just enjoy the novelty of experimentation on her own terms.
‘Hollow’ is another track that references the Inflo split. However, this time, it isn’t only the lyrics that give this away but the choice in its production. Lilting violins and strums of the harp work together to create a whimsical, story-like feel to the track reminiscent of their Mercury-winning album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’. While this influence is clear, there is an electronic distorted air to the orchestral composition compared to the clearer acoustics of her previous albums, solidifying the idea that Simz is in a state of transformation.
There is a moment in one of the last tracks that summarises the dynamic of ‘Lotus’. On ‘Blood’, Simz plays with a conversation piece between a brother and sister (Wretch 32 and Simz). In this piece, they air out their grievances over what each of them has had to struggle through. Still, there is a beautiful moment of connection in the midst of this, where they both giggle, having accidentally said the same thing. ‘Lotus’ thrives in this space, emerging through the gaps in the hard earth in these moments of joy and silliness amongst the rest of the trying times.
‘Lotus’ is a gift to its listeners. As Simz raps on ‘Free’, “love is every time [she] put[s] pen to the page”. This is Simz’s way of spreading what she has learned, reaching out to listeners and exchanging knowledge so they might not get hurt in the same capacity. Ending the album on the melodic guitar plucking of ‘Blue’, Simz offers up her knowledge as a “textbook” for listeners if they should choose to follow her in emerging through the cracks of their pain into new life.
Ella Wilson-Coates
Image: Thibaut Grevet
