From The Roots Up

(Atlantic)

Another week, another young female singer making her debut. We've just had albums from Ren Harvieu and Lianne La Havas, and Rita Ora is currently making the singles chart her own but – my, my, my – Delilah could outshine them all. A 21-year-old Londoner, Paloma Stoecker has spent four years under the wing of Atlantic Records, honing her writing skills while peeking out into the mainstream with co-credits on tracks by Wretch 32 and Chase And Status. The obvious career comparison is Emeli Sande and, indeed, now emerging under the stage name Delilah, Stoecker's style isn't far off what the Aberdeenshire lass might sound like if remixed by Massive Attack. This is trip hop for the here and now, a 21st-century urban groove built on fractured beats, percussion with a cool, crisp edge and a modern soul voice that floats in a space where bass is a sensation as much as a sound. She doesn't push things as far into the leftfield as James Blake, but nor does she beg for easy radio airplay. It's an absolute showstopper of an album.