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Jul 30, 2020 By Christopher Roberts and Samantha Small Lianne La Havas

British singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas released a new self-titled album a couple of weeks ago via Nonesuch. Last night she was the musical guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in which she performed the abum’s “Bittersweet” in London’s Roundhouse venue, which was empty. She was joined only by Frida Touray on backing vocals. Watch the goregous performance below.

Read our review of the album here.

La Havas’ new album is a collection of nine original songs plus a cover of Radioheads’s “Weird Fishes” that document the changing tides of a new love affair that provided a foundation for exponential growth and confidence. According to La Havas, the single “Paper Thin” kickstarted the creation of the album as a whole.

“It started as a distant melody in my head as I was falling asleep that I decided not to sleep on,” La Havas explained in a press release. “It was recorded as jam between friends and has stayed that way.”

It’s La Havas’ first album in five years, since 2015’s Blood.

“I’ve tapped into the best and worst parts of me and while I didn’t expect this to be the direction of my new music, it’s my reality and it’s driven by emotion,” La Havas also said of the album. “I dare say that this is the closest I’ve gotten to a pure expression so far. If you’d never heard me before, I’d be happy to say, ‘This is me. This is who I am.’”

Her cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” (off their In Rainbows album) was released a few weeks back and even made our Songs of the Week list, even though we rarely put covers on there. She also shared a video for the cover. La Havas also previously shared a video for single “Can’t Fight” and singles “Paper Thin,” and “Bittersweet.”

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