The Pop Corporation

With Elmiene’s album, Ego Ella May’s new album ‘Good Intentions’ is a gorgeous one-two punch of jazzy R&B goodness. For fans of Gilles Peterson’s radio show, for Sade heads, for Neo Soul crunch types, for anyone looking for music that feels like jazz, but forward faces, Ego Ella May is the artist for you.

Raised in London, she was named both for her Nigerian heritage and Ella Fitzgerald, so seemingly, she was destined for the stage and studio. She started off prolific, releasing projects quickly, before taking stock and perfecting what she does on ‘Good Intentions’ which – and don’t make any mistakes here – is one of the best albums that’ll get released this year.

There’s a tangible cool to Ego’s approach to music, which never raises it’s voice to demand your attention, but rather, invites you in to her world filled with opulent suspended chords and razor sharp rhythms, while she bobs and weaves, allowing the whole thing to melt into each other.

Whatever the tempo, Ego Ella May is utterly mesmerising, never more apparent than the album centrepiece, ‘What You Waiting For’, which will have the soulies, the jazzers, the Balearic dads, the deep housers giddy with excitement.

Of all life is in this album, from themes of love and loss, self-image, friendship, and weightier themes in ‘We’re Not Free’ where she sings “Tories out, but policies remain. What d’you mean trans rights are up for debate again? Rwanda’s scrapped. Starmer thanks for that. Wouldn’t it be great if it were ‘but morals. And not a lack of cash. Is it too much to ask to lead with your heart?”

Elsewhere, you’ve got skittering polyrhythms of ‘Pot Luck Baby’ and ‘Footwork’, which make for a hugely rewarding listening experience – it’s not an album that is sated by simply sticking to one pattern, while still feeling a whole, cohesive piece that should be listened to from start-to-finish, like classic albums of the past.

Previous releases have been excellent, but on ‘Good Intentions’, you can really feel that she’s pushed herself and those around her even further, and what a triumph it is. Quite often with albums like this, you can’t pick up on a huge array of influences, but here, they’re all present without being bad photocopies of the originals. She’s marinated in what she’s into and let it pour out of her, and it’s magic!

There’s a looseness that has, you assume, echoes of the jam sessions that bore fruit. It’s got a light touch while letting Ego’s voice hit you in the heart and head. If she absorbed good records, literature and life, then this album invites you to absorb what she’s putting down – and you’re advised to do exactly that, because this is one of those records you will regret not getting into while it’s hot and the vinyl run runs out.

In a world that is very much about instant-gratification, ‘Good Intentions’ kicks the trend and asks you to slow down and drink deep.

It’s a vibe. It’s defiant. It’s soulful. It’s smart. It’s emotional. You’ll not hear many better records than this – do not miss out.