Amazon.co.uk Review
Queen Of The Coffee Table, Gabrielle's career is demonstrating a remarkable longevity, considering that since the all-conquering "Dreams", she's seemed to cater for the few but the fickle city bohemians that have just discovered
Massive Attack as "the next happening thing". It's not hard to see why, though, because
Rise is ultra-slick, impeccably-produced soul-lite. What might come as a surprise is that in its own way, it's actually very good. A largely weepy album, much of
Rise deals with the emotional fall-out of a failed love-affair, but through its tears, songs like "Over You" and "When A Woman" offers a girls-against-the-world solace. But as a warm undercurrent, there's a parent-friendly theme to "Sunshine", dedicated to Gabrielle's new-born son, that should see
Rise lovingly working its way into a vast number of record collections.
--Louis Pattison