ZANG TUMMM TUMB ARTICLES “the first draft of history”

SEAL
SEAL IV

WARNERS
☆☆

Tepid return for soul crooner after five-year absence.

With his ‘91 debut. Paddington born Seal showed he was capable of knocking out the odd meaty jewel. His fourth album reasserts the fact that hes been wilting creatively ever since — that most of it already sounds a decade old tells its own story. The belting vocals are still very much on form, particularly on the funk-driven Let Me Roll, and the shuffling bassline on Where Theres Gold hints at a semblance of fresh direction, but theres an abundance of gloopy pedestrian filler that does little to inspire.

Ben Lerwill