wants this. Live, the Slovak-born, LA-based singer is magnetic, drawing the energy of others towards her. She’s a star – some people shy away from the light, but she races toward it, never looking back. Debut album ‘PRIMA’ is the launchpad, the point of ignition, a fearless 11-song cavalcade of ideas that up-turn expectations and fully farm her charismatic presence as one of modern music’s MVPs.
‘KGB’ is celebratory opener, a subversive romp that looks back on her childhood dreams of pop domination. ‘Nicole Kidman’ underpins her stellar vocal abilities, while ‘I’m The Man’ drops the tempo to let ADÉLA fully assert herself.
‘Boys’ is a club stomper, the lithe production recalling Missy Elliot or even The Neptunes glossy Millennial run. ‘Red Bottoms’ is coy and alluring, while the terrific ‘Hitachi’ captures one of her powerful vocals to date.
A powerhouse live performer – ‘PRIMA’ refers to prima ballerina, referencing her dance studies – the album proves that ADÉLA is the master, or mistress, or the studio environment. There’s a potent sense of curation at work here – the way ‘Fantasize’ moves in to ‘Starving Artist’, the placement of ‘Marijuana’ against ‘Therapy’ all point to different aspects of her story.
Closing with the mighty hip-hop infused, neo-industrial beat behind ‘Ain’t In LA’, this is an unrelenting debut, a coherent run of pop ambition that displays every inch of ADÉLA’s star quality.
8/10