A Perfect Contradiction

Editors’ Notes Paloma Faith has always distinguished herself from her sisterhood of British belters (Adele, et al) with her penchant for retro revivalism, and on her third record she casts a wide net, nodding to '50s doo-wop, '60s Motown, and '70s disco and funk. "Can't Rely On You," cowritten by Pharrell Williams, is a fiery soul-funk workout, and "Mouth to Mouth" is a disco dance party, as befits a tune cowritten by Raphael Saadiq. But it's the towering, wall-of-sound ballad "Only Love Can Hurt Like This," penned by the legendary Dianne Warren, that anchors the record, highlighting Faith's powerhouse vocals as well as her stellar taste in retro-futurist aesthetics.