It’s one thing to narrate your autobiography for an audio book, but it’s quite another to condense it and sing about it. British actress Samantha Morton could fill volumes with her story. »It’s pretty messy sometimes,« she says of her life on the album, produced by XL Recordings boss Richard Russell. It’s full of dark, understated downtempo and trip-hop moments, often reminiscent of late-era Massive Attack.
Morton is now a successful, Oscar-nominated actress. She spent her early years on the streets or in foster care, experiencing abuse and being passed between family members. To this day, she still doesn’t know her whole story, but she has written about her experiences and created her own truth. The resulting songs are cynical versions of nursery rhymes (»The Little White Cloud That Cried«), interpolations of familiar 1980s ballads (»Loved By God«, which samples »Unchained Melody«) and almost sensual midnight pop (»Let’s Walk In The Night«). Morton’s voice carefully walks a fine line between singing and speaking, perfectly complementing Russell’s fragile beats and shadowy soundscapes.
