Twenty albums down the line and over half a century recording, Joan Armatrading continues to move forwards, preferring the new to the old. Her splendidly named new album How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean is a forest of invention and great songs.
And where recent records have explored other areas – jazz, classical (in 2023 she had her first symphony performed) – this one is very much in the grand tradition that gave the world Me Myself I, Love And Affection and Down To Zero, the unique kind of emotional rock and confessional pop that marks her best work.
These are songs that, if their stories didn’t actually happen, sound entirely real: from the regretful I Gave You My Keys to the gorgeous Come Back To Me (If Only In Dreams), this is a record full of sadness, soul and insane guitar workouts. On Back And Forth and Now What?, Armatrading does serious harm to electric guitars.
The results are great, and entirely in keeping with an album that sounds both familiar and brand new.
