Jordan Rakei's Wallflower is the soulful story of a song-writer honing his craft

London’s music scene has obviously had a profound effect upon Wallflower. Having made some well-established friends south of the river with members of United Vibrations and Rhythm Section, the loose, woozy house sound is just one of the elements that creeps in and out of your eardrums throughout the album.

At its foundations, Wallflower is built around jazz, soul, R&B and good old fashioned pop hooks. “Goodbye” brings the bassline and drums to the forefront as Rakei’s flawless voice punctuates the gaps left between the notes. “Sorceress” adds an electronic element to proceedings with swirling synths hovering high above Rakei’s seductive, reverb-laden voice – crying out to his tormentor.

The percussive rhythms seem to be a strong driving force behind the ideas flowing throughout, with the irresistible swing of tracks like “Clues Blues” making it near-impossible not to nod your head as the horns kick in – bringing to mind the dubbed out sounds of fellow New Zealand residents Fat Freddy’s Drop.

The linchpin of the album is of course Rakei’s voice. The way in which he hits each note is almost effortless, with a voice which could smooth over the cracks in any crumbling relationship. As the album comes to a close, Rakei is let loose over the stripped back instrumentation of “Hiding Place” and title track “Wallflower” – giving him and his evocative tones centre-stage.

Rakei’s second LP is a melting pot of ideas, pulling inspiration from a variety of styles and scenes, with his song-writing taking a step up to another level with this influx of creativity. The instrumentation and tempos may change throughout, but you will always be lured back to the focal point of this album – Rakei’s boundless voice.