Long-awaited, delayed, ahead of time, out of time, and ultimately opportune are all accurate ways of describing
Celeste's first album. Her first commercial solo single on
Lily Allen's Warner boutique label landed in 2016. After a move to Polydor, she gradually refined and refashioned her sound with singles and EPs that drew more comparisons to various jazz and soul giants and their retro-contemporary musical descendents. The first new single off
Not Your Muse, the mannered and grand pop-soul belter "Stop This Flame," appeared at the top of 2020 and almost cracked the Top 40 in her native U.K. None of the other songs throughout the year stuck, but
Celeste was still rising, identified by many media outlets as one to keep an eye on. At year's end, she was heard in the credits sequence of Pixar's Soul (a duet with
Jon Batiste on a cover of
the Impressions' "It's All Right"). Mere days after
Not Your Muse finally arrived the following January, she was nominated beside stylistic peer
Andra Day for a Golden Globe, recognized for one of her contributions to the soundtrack of
The Trial of the Chicago 7. Along the line,
Not Your Muse had several intended release dates and at some point was supposed to be an EP. Chaotic roll-out notwithstanding, the album is sure-footed and attests to the artist's high standing among the crowd mining pre-disco R&B, jazz, and pop.
Celeste and her fellow songwriters and producers -- led by main collaborators
Jamie Hartman and Josh Crocker -- have all the knowing, tasteful moves down pat and exhibit some tricks of their own. While some songs merely drift along with mechanical efficiency and fade into the background, and one in particular is mawkish to the hilt, a greater number of them allure with a slightly peculiar sense of delight and undertones of unease and looming distress.
Celeste's voice stuns most when matched with quieter support. Most charming is "Beloved," which at first blush signals "exotica frivolity for a tiki bar jukebox," yet
Celeste captivates with a swooning, sinuous vocal. There are some stellar lines, too. The brush-offs in "Idea Woman" and the title song are particularly cutting, and moments in unraveling and one-sided relationships are related to striking effect with "I touch your head to pull your thoughts into my hand" (from 2019 single "Strange") and "Sometimes you give and pay the price" (from the rolling "Tell Me Something I Don't Know," the best of the uptempo numbers). ~ Andy Kellman