Neneh Cherry – “Synchronised Devotion”

Neneh Cherry – “Synchronised Devotion”

Neneh Cherry, the Swedish artist who has been twisting and redefining pop-music roles for nearly 30 years, is coming back on Friday with her new album Broken Politics. It’s a good one. Cherry is once again working with Four Tet, the UK producer who also worked on every track from her 2014 album Blank Project. Every song she’s shared from the new album has been worth hearing. But “Synchronised Devotion,” the latest of them, might be the best one.

“Synchornised Devotion” follows “Kong,” “Shot Gun Shack,” and last night’s “Natural Skin Deep.” The new track is also the quietest. It has very little of the brash intensity that Cherry brought to her classic debut Raw Like Sushi or the space-rearranging post-dance drums for which Four Tet is probably best-known. Instead, it’s a meditation, a deep exhalation.

The track consists almost entirely of pianos and what sounds like xylophone. It’s still and tingly and entirely drum-free. And over that restorative bed, Cherry calmly and poetically introduces herself. Listen to it below.

Broken Politics is out 10/19 on Smalltown Supersound/Awal Recordings.

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