Gabriella Cilmi’s Pure Love is a record to fall in love with

Gabriella Cilmi’s voice has always given me a reason to pay attention, but Pure Love has had me falling for it all over again. Across ten tracks of rock, soul and piano ballads, she sounds utterly at home. There is grit, warmth, humour and enough power to make me wonder why nobody has asked her to sing a Bond theme. At times, there are hints of Tina Turner at her best. I love every bit of this album.

It arrives thirteen years after her previous album, although Gabriella has continued making music throughout that time. Hearing her now, it is hard not to feel a little cheated by those early attempts to turn her into an identikit pop star. I wonder how much wonderful music we missed while the record labels were trying to make her fit that mould. Pure Love lets me hear the range of her talent, and she sounds like she is enjoying the freedom.

Producer Peter Miles recorded the album at Middle Farm Studios in Devon, with Gabriella and the band together in one room. They worked live to tape, letting the performances and early ideas guide the sessions. That approach suits these songs. The band has room to move, and Gabriella can loosen up, dig into a phrase or let her voice do the heavy lifting when the arrangement falls away.

Gabriella explains the change plainly: “I spent years running away from myself, believing the key to this album was abandoning my past.” Watching childhood footage of herself singing ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ helped her reconsider. She found her way back to the enthusiasm which came before record deals, promotional schedules and other people’s ideas about who she should be.

The 2019 interview with Gabriella touched on some of those pressures, as well as her growing interest in Gram Parsons and The Band. Meanwhile, The Water gave her voice space within soul, folk and country arrangements. I have followed this part of her career with real affection. Hearing it lead to an album as good as Pure Love is a pleasure.

A voice with plenty to say

The opening title track gets things moving with a desire to shake off old expectations. Then ‘No To A King’ makes that resolve unmistakable. Its confrontation with unequal power feels like the moment Gabriella sets herself on a new course, with the confidence and strength to decide where she goes next. It is an early highlight on a record which keeps giving me more.

‘Too Far Gone’ gets into the cost of standing up for yourself. The criticism she faces for choosing to “put up a fight” will be familiar to anyone whose refusal to fall in line has made life inconvenient for somebody else. The piano-ballad setting gives her room to tell that story, and the quieter delivery makes the hurt easy to hear.

Then there is ‘YRU Hanging Around’, a single I already loved and which now appears to have taken up permanent residence in my head. Its loose groove is irresistible. Gabriella settles into her lower register, playing with the phrasing and giving the song just the right amount of attitude. I keep coming back to it, then catch myself singing it long after the album has finished.

Even so, ‘Pieces’ is probably my favourite. Written with Julia Church, it catches the horrible feeling of seeing a former partner with somebody new and discovering you are less over them than you thought. The classic soul and R&B setting is a lovely fit for Gabriella’s voice. There is something in the way she sings it which makes the hurt feel fresh, however many times I listen. This is one of those songs I want to put straight back on.

‘You Killed Our Song’ finds another painfully familiar detail in the aftermath of a relationship: a piece of music you can no longer hear without thinking about the person who shared it with you. The piano-led arrangement keeps the focus on Gabriella and that memory. Alongside ‘Pieces’, it shows how much she can do with an experience so many people will recognise.

‘No Apologies’ brings a brighter mood, with a Motown-leaning sound and the relief of being loved as you are. After the arguments and lingering heartbreak, it is lovely to hear her enjoy that acceptance. There is warmth here, and a sense that she no longer needs to explain herself to everyone.

‘What We Do’ opens that feeling out through gospel call-and-response vocals. It acknowledges the mistakes people make even when they act with love and good intentions. There is generosity in that, especially on an album which has already dealt with the damage other people’s judgments can do. The vocal responses give the song a communal warmth that makes me want to join in.

The closing ‘Love Me Like It’s The End Of The World’ was inspired by her partner’s love of disaster films. That is an endearing starting point for a song which pares back the instrumentation and puts her voice at the centre. After everything she has sung about, the directness of that request for love feels right. It is a beautiful way to leave the album, though I rarely leave it alone for long.

Pure Love review

I have championed Gabriella since Lessons To Be Learned, and hearing Pure Love makes me glad I kept paying attention. The voice I fell for is still there, with songs and arrangements which let me hear so much more of what she can do. She sounds comfortable taking charge of the bigger performances and just as assured when there is little more than a piano behind her.

‘Pieces’ is the song I reach for first, ‘YRU Hanging Around’ is the one I cannot stop singing, and ‘No To A King’ gives this return its sense of purpose. There is no stretch I want to skip. I love hearing Gabriella sound this confident, and I love that she is just as willing to let me hear her hurt.

Pure Love is easily a 5/5 album. As a career comeback, I honestly do not think I have heard better. It leaves me wondering what I missed when the industry was so busy trying to make Gabriella fit its idea of a pop star, but I will be spending far more time enjoying what she has given me now. This is an album I will be playing for years.

Pure Love is out now. Listen to the album, browse the vinyl and CD editions, or follow Gabriella on Instagram.