Jessy Lanza - All the Time review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

The Guardian 0

(Hyperdub)
Lanza’s enticing jumble of electronic experimentalism and R&B moves closer to the mainstream on her third album – you sense Janet Jackson would approve

Last week, Jessy Lanza livestreamed a performance-slash-DJ set. Nothing unusual in that, of course. You currently can’t move for artists, producers and DJs whipping out their cameras and video encoders, either to promote their new releases or earn a few quid in lieu of lost revenue. And yet, amid a sea of similar online events, Lanza stood out. She performed in the back of what looked like a people carrier. Its boot opened to reveal the Canadian producer sitting cross-legged, surrounded by electronic equipment and two disco lights, the latter the kind of thing you buy from Argos for a six-year-old’s birthday party. Thin clouds of dry ice wafted forth, which failed to add an air of atmospheric mystery: it looked like Lanza was suffering from both engine trouble and faulty air-con. She played pounding footwork, deep house, a ferocious example of Bristol producer Addison Groove’s take on Chicago juke and sang a few songs from her third album, All the Time, their sweetness at odds with the pounding minimalism of her other musical selections. Then she shut the boot. Livestream over.

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