Sweden-born, NYC-reared singer Neneh Cherry’s latest album, Blank Project, arrived last February, 18 years after her previous record. She hasn’t been on vacation, though, or obsessively tinkering, D’Angelo-style. For Cherry, best known for unstoppably badass 1988 hit and throwback party staple “Buffalo Stance,” recent work has included collaborations with Scandinavian avant-jazz outfit the Thing, her own discursive BBC cooking show and cameos with artists such as Peter Gabriel and Gorillaz. Such diversity is typical of an artist who, like her jazz-trumpeter stepfather, Don, has always explored outsider avenues and collaborated fearlessly.
For Blank Project, the cast includes cowriters Paul Simm and Cherry’s husband, Cameron McVey; synth-drum duo RocketNumberNine; adventurous beat maker and producer Four Tet; and on one track, dance-pop queen Robyn. Blank Project’s icy, groove-based songs meld acoustic percussion and minimal electronics with Cherry’s poetic, assured vocals. Like her 1989 free-form pop debut, Raw Like Sushi, and chilled-out ’96 album, Man, this record—championed by tastemakers here and in the U.K.—doesn’t shy away from heavy issues, tackling feminism, sex, motherhood, depression and death.
Incredibly, this week’s show will be Cherry’s first in NYC, a fact that’s even more surprising when you check out her powerhouse live performances online. (Google her 1988 Top of the Pops rendition of “Buffalo Stance” to see a seven-months-pregnant Cherry dominate a TV studio full of nebbishy Brits.) Recent appearances are more contemplative but no less captivating.—Andrew Frisicano