JOY CROOKES

It’s astonishing to listen to Joy Crookes’ debut single ‘New Manhattan ‘and think that the South London singer/songwriter is just seventeen years old. A beautifully understated slice of sultry R&B pop, ‘New Manhattan‘ is artful and controlled, yet manages to project the kind of grandiose atmospherics that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Bond soundtrack.

Opening with dreamy harp scales which blossom around a quietly plucked guitar, Crooke’s soulful, soporific vocals hold a genuine sense of wise emotion that defies her age. Swooping flourishes add a sense of the ethereal to this self-assured debut, but its ‘New Manhattan’s’ subtlety that makes for such a gorgeous listen. With careful, quietly glistening production that allows Crooke’s vocal to hypnotise, the track will linger in your thoughts long after its finished playing.

Words by Linsey Teggert

Tipped by Charlotte Holroyd from Bitter Sweet Symphonies