Bleep

The Ibeyi sisters look to repeat the trick that made their eponymous 2015 LP such a runaway smash. The formula of that record - clip-clop beats, neat harmonising and clean r&b songwriting - is largely stuck to on Ash. Ibeyi’s singular trick is to make good use of space in a manner similar to James Blake, and the tension rought by the pockets of silence on tracks like ‘Waves’ and ‘Transmission/Michaelion’ draw you into this intimate album. They pick their collaborators carefully here, and each track with a feature is characterised by a meeting of styles. Kamasi Washington’s saxophone chorus adds weight to ‘Deathless’, while the Maia Rodriguez joint ‘Me Voy’ is a cool slice of reggaeton ‘n b.