- Nabihah Iqbal's shoegazey new album is both deeper and dancier than we're used to.
- Nabihah Iqbal was once referred to as an "undefinable talent." That was back in 2018, in the wake of her album Weighing Of The Heart, which saw her transition from her electronic music alias, Throwing Shade, to a guitar-wielding indie rock singer-songwriter under her given name. For Nabihah Iqbal, being undefinable allows her to seamlessly shapeshift like this—between genres, but also between scenes and disciplines. In a single day, she might be found broadcasting on London's NTS Radio or BBC 6 Music, before DJing an all-night long set at Night Tales or playing in a band at the Barbican. In the same week, she could also be working on curating England's largest multi-arts festival, Brighton Festival, giving a lecture at The Royal College of Art or preparing an interview series with the likes of photographer Wolfgang Tillmans or the historian David Olusoga at Somerset House. On her new album, DREAMER, she shifts gear once again. This time, she fuses her work as a musician and singer-songwriter with her love for dance music.
The circumstances around DREAMER were turbulent for Iqbal. Her studio was burgled well into her work on the album and everything was lost, her hand was broken and, to add to it all, her grandfather suffered a brain haemorrhage, so she had to rush to Pakistan right before the world was engulfed in a major pandemic. Iqbal addresses the melancholy from this period most clearly on "The World Couldn't See Us" with verses like, "When all my secrets were yours to keep / Stuck inside your beauty, falling in too deep / When gentle magic took me by surprise / When we felt everything, standing side by side," which she intones over a footloose, '80s-style tune that recalls Joy Division's "Disorder." (The guitar melody adds a particularly throat-pricking touch.) A person's art can become almost human to them as they spend more and more time with it, and Iqbal taps into that experience here, conflating her lost work on the album with a love she's pining for.
"Sunflower," on the other hand, radiates the euphoria of new love through swirling harps, warm basslines and dubbed-out percussion. It's more than the sum of its triumphant parts, and it reminds me of Underworld's "Two Months Off"—it's almost impossible not to feel warm and fuzzy when you hear it. The closing credits of a film about the second summer of love would go well underneath, as Iqbal sings softly, "Meet me under the sunflower / Find me there in the golden hour / Meet me under the sunflower / Steal a kiss / Feel the power." It's an empowering vocal hook that taps into the same message as the UK free party movement of the early '90s—peace, love and freedom—with the sunflower as a key emblem.
That said, not all of Iqbal's lyricism carries such weight. The album's title track feels a little wishy-washy after the atmospheric opener "In Light." It's easy to imagine "DREAMER" soundtracking an alfresco iced latte catch-up on Made In Chelsea as Iqbal sings "Dream of me / And I'll dream of you / Sun so soft / And sky so blue," These lyrics are lovely and relatable but they fall short of lasting impact. The same goes for the instrumental behind the words which feels like a four-minute glide on a fairground swing ride—nice and enjoyable, but ultimately not that exciting.
The danceable moments of DREAMER are some of Iqbal's most impressive work to date, tying the knot between what makes a great pop song and what gets a dance floor going—namely, excitement and anticipation. "Gentle Heart," which leans heavy into Chicago house with sharp claps and spacey, undulating synth lines, takes the LP into its crescendo of a closing run. Iqbal conjures the anticipation for a night-out dancing with friends with lines like "Phone flashing, friends calling, plans forming / Breeze on her skin, world at her feet / Places to be and faces to meet."
Across DREAMER Iqbal experiences a wide variety of emotions, usually dealing with love lost or love found. These highs and lows are reflective of her journey to creating the album in the first place, but even in the depths of despair she still managed to turn out something that feels lush and enticing. DREAMER is one of those albums people revisit for all kinds of reasons, whether they're sitting drinking wine with friends or out on a walk in need of a good cry.
Tracklist01. In Light
02. Dreamer
03. This World Couldn't See Us
04. Sunflower
05. Lilac Twilight
06. Gentle Heart
07. Sky River
08. Sweet Emotion (lost in devotion)
09. A Tender Victory
10. Closer Lover