Mabel - About Last Night... (2022) Hi Res

With her second album, UK dance-pop star Mabel should be poised to break big in the US, 33 years after her mom Neneh Cherry did with her excellent album Raw Like Sushi. Mabel's on the same wavelength as hitmakers Dua Lipa and Doja Cat, who gets a shout-out on "Let Them Know," a pulsing "Vogue"-style house groove about getting ready for the party. "Nails shining like Christmas/ Heels on six inches/ Waist cinched, Mugler fit," Mabel sings, celebrating a culture that's all about beauty, feeling good and liberation. She has said she watched Paris Is Burning and Pose for songwriting inspiration, and while there are retro touches all over the place especially on songs like the exuberant "Animal," with its disco shimmer, kitty-cat purr and '70s-style strings About Last Night… feels completely right-now. It's a trip around the globe, too, as "Shy" borrows from Bollywood and Hindi-dance glam, and "LOL" applies its infectious chorus ("LOLOL, LOL") to beats that nod at both island and second-line drums. "Crying On The Dance Floor'' shows off Italo disco flourishes, including vocoder and some maddeningly chimey sound that will make you think a phone is ringing nearby. The glossy and light as a soap bubble "I Love Your Girl'' starts out like a dance-pop version of Little Big Town's "Girl Crush" spying on a guy and getting jealous over seeing him with another girl but takes it to a new place by realizing maybe the other woman is the real prize. "I keep on watching you kiss her/ Thought it was you I was missing/ But now I realize/ I think I love your girl." "Overthinking'' mashes up '80s Euro synth-pop with emo verses from 24kGoldn. "I Wish" a track by DJ Joel Corry featuring Mabel is a party builder, all whistles and high-energy house beats and an unshakable melody. "Good Luck" is Daft Punk-catchy and shows off Mabel's impressive range, diving low and flitting high like a real house diva, as she belts out the song's empowering "you can do better than that guy" theme. The title is sure to be yelled along to at a dance floor near you soon, while "Let Love Go" big disco vibes with suave verses by Lil Tecca is a ready-to-go summer jam made for booming out of a car window.