Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7.5/10

Whatever the Reason you do something, whatever the motive or even what you hope will be the end goal, if it is not done with sincerity of spirit or a joy in your heart then the result will be one of unremitting despair, of a hunger that remains unsatisfied. The reason for doing anything must be one of change, whether personal or spiritual, regardless of whether it is for the greater good or to take down society in a thousand voiceless deeds, change and reason must go hand in hand and for Selah Sue, the Reason is more than good enough and full of entertaining expression.

Like a maths equation that sits tantalisingly out of reach, Reason is one that offers a puzzle to work through, the sound of iridescence, of a glittering dynamic that pulses with intention and with fast, vigorous cool. Even when the song lurches into the uncharted territory of the love ballad or the experimentation of the underground hip hop genre with its different flowing measure, the equation is one that defies labelling; sometime two and two doesn’t make four, it just makes a defining bundle.

The diversity is such that songs as diverse as I Won’t Go For More, Fear Nothing, Right Where I Want You, Holding On and Together, which features Childish Gambino, make Selah Sue a very out of the ordinary addition to anyone’s collection. Whilst it might not have the specific appeal of some musical expressions, it nevertheless petitions itself with a firm, confident and upheld hand to the masses that it has overall fascination; that its allure is not just in the glamour, it is in the sincerity of spirit in which the album is made and presented.

Taken with the charm it holds, each track is offered and digested with temptation sated, as a whole it performs its job to the upmost and the Reason soon becomes clear of why it can be seen as attractive; it is an album produced with honour and influence and not one for some to scorn over.

Dramatic and motivating, the Reason is above reproach.

Ian D. Hall