Domino by Ella Thompson – Album Review
By Ellie Victor
Ella Thompson’s Domino introduces a poised new voice in light jazz, with soul arrangements and traces of cinematic pop adding colour around the edges. It is an accomplished debut, although its elegance eventually begins to feel restrictive.
The title track moves on soft vocals and airy soul-jazz instrumentation, establishing Thompson as a singer of considerable control. Nothing is pushed too hard, and the performance benefits from that restraint, but the album soon reveals a reluctance to disturb its own polished surface.
‘Lotus and the Lily’ provides an early highlight. Smoky, sinuous and richly layered, it makes better use of Thompson’s vocal range and suggests greater depths beneath the record’s immaculate presentation. Her background as a music teacher perhaps explains some of the precision, although the song never feels clinical. It flows naturally into ‘To Light the Lantern’, a patient torch song whose final notes appear to smoulder rather than simply fade.
These opening tracks are skilfully written and performed, but their similarities become increasingly apparent. Domino remains closely confined within its chosen strain of soul-jazz, leaving too little friction between the songs. The musicianship is never in doubt; what is missing is a stronger sense of contrast.
“Compelling”
‘Never Fight the Way You Feel’ introduces a firmer soul groove and lyrics concerned with emotional connection. Paradoxically, it remains difficult to become fully involved. The arrangement moves with more purpose, but the song still keeps the listener at a polite distance.
‘Wouldn’t It Be Easy’ carries echoes of the Style Council’s later, jazzier work. Thompson sounds entirely comfortable within the arrangement, gliding through it with understated assurance. It broadens the album’s musical palette without straying far from the tasteful restraint that defines the record.
Closing track ‘When the Cold Wind Blows’ begins as drowsy, after-hours jazz before gradually gaining pace. Thompson’s vocal is graceful and assured, winding through the arrangement without resorting to unnecessary flourishes. It is among the album’s more compelling performances, although even here the threatened surge never quite arrives.
Domino is a refined and technically impressive debut. Thompson has a distinctive voice, a sophisticated ear for arrangement and an evident command of the soul-jazz tradition. Yet the album too often favours polish over emotional risk. Its excursions into soul and cinematic pop provide some variation, but not enough to prevent the songs from blending into one another.
I’m certain Ella Thompson has the skill to embrace more dramatic ebbs and flows, to match the obvious potency of her vocal and compositional talents, in the future.
6/10
Top image: Lilli Waters
Ellie has spent over three decades dissecting riffs, rhythms, and rockstar egos, all in pursuit of the perfect review. Her music writing journey began at 12 with a glowing 10/10 diary entry for Echo and the Bunnymen, and she’s been chasing that high ever since. Armed with encyclopaedic knowledge and a soft spot for the sonically daring, Ellie will review anything that’s put in front of her – as long as it’s on vinyl.
