Show Me All Your Teeth

Lady Wray “Smilin'”

It’s interesting how a decade and a half of R&B revivalism has resulted in music rooted in ‘60s and ‘70s aesthetics no longer sounding retro, per se. Time has looped around so someone could hear Lady Wray’s record and hear Adele, Solange, or Amy Winehouse rather than Motown or Stax, and be totally justified in that. Lady Wray doesn’t sing like someone stuck in the past. The production feels more retro than the song itself, and Wray’s vocal performance has a toughness that’s a lot more Mary J. Blige than Aretha Franklin. You can hear it in the guarded optimism in her voice – “Smilin’” puts a positive spin on troubles, but she sounds like she’s prepared to be heartbroken and disappointed.

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