Though the Lewisham-raised Eska will be a new name to many, she has spent a decade working as a session singer for the likes of Tony Allen, Matthew Herbert and Grace Jones. Her debut album, five years in the making, attests to the Londoner’s versatility, drawing on everything from psychedelic soul to folk infused with the spirit of Kate Bush. The hypnotic opener, This Is How a Garden Grows, moves at its own leisurely pace through history, evoking a half-cut Erykah Badu. Unsurprisingly, not every song’s that good – To Be Remembered is particularly forgettable – but, at its best, Eska is a mind-bending gem.
