As the London trio London Grammar gets ready to release its third electro-pop album, Californian Soil, its November tour dates have already sold out. Sophomore effort Truth Is A Beautiful Thing hit No. 1 in the U.K. in 2017, and since the group has embraced a fuller, more pure pop style.

London Grammar is easy listening. What was once called adult contemporary by Boomers is now “ambient electronica” to millennials. Lead singer Hannah Reid’s lyrics have a drugging effect, pulling on the heartstrings and endearing the listener with a hefty dose of vulnerability. Proceeded by four singles, “Baby It’s You,” “Lose Your Head,” “How Does It Feel” and “America,” the album speaks of the feminine struggle for autonomy and the shift that Reid has experienced since asserting leadership of the band.

The record starts with cinematic instrumentation, peaceful and filled with anticipation, then bounces excitedly into “Californian Soil.” The song, which started out as an experiment, became one of Reid’s favorites on the album for its ability to create light and shade, something she had always wanted to make.

“Missing” follows, and is peppy like a cheerleader but with dissimilarly dark lyrics. Reid tells of a mother cooking in the kitchen accompanied by anxious lyrics. “I worry that one day you’ll go missing, and who will notice when you’re gone?” she sings. The theme continues into the next song, “Lose Your Head,” with Reid now being the one who’s disappeared. “You say you miss me now/ What a way to lose your head/ What a way to go to bed/ With all those thoughts inside your head,” she sings. The lyrics untangle the misconceptions people hold of young artists and their reactions when one grows into an empowered adult.

“Lord, It’s A Feeling” is a ballad to a playboy. “I saw the way you made her feel like she should be somebody else/ I saw the way she tried to hold you when your heart was just a shell/ I saw the words she wrote, it broke my heart, it was a living hell/ I saw the way you laughed behind her back when you fucked somebody else.” A common story of what takes place when a relationship is out of balance, and perhaps hints at the imbalance Reid felt before taking lead of the band. Damn, that one hurts, London Grammar.

At the midpoint of the album, “How Does It Feel” begins to pick up the energy. Piano intensifies behind the vocals and builds into a poppy dance track, surely an energizer for the crowd on their upcoming tour. “Baby It’s You” is a dreamy dance number about being surrounded by people in an audience while swaying with the one you love. It may be hard to relate to after a year of sheltering in place with a partner, but it reminds us of being surrounded by large crowds, yet still feeling like you’re with the greatest person in the room.

Switching from the light to the shade, “Call Your Friends” is a direct plea to end the party. “So can you call all of your friends, baby?/ Tell them to find other plans/ ‘Cause I need you tonight, baby/ I need to know that every things all right,” she sings. With a good beat and melodic strings, it’s a low-key and atmospheric come-down.

“All My Love” shows off Reid’s vocal range. The nearly a cappella track has a ghostly whisper of “all my love” trailing out over a nostalgic guitar riff. The drama officially sets in on “Talking,” the piano playing wanting the listener to worry, and Reid’s lyrics seeming to challenge the feeling of safety she established in the earlier songs. “All of these changes keep on following me/ Visions that wake me relentless/ Leaders mean nothing to me,” she sings.  But then on “I Need The Night,” Reid quickly reinstates her confidence and wonders aloud about a feminine divinity. “There is a whisper that our god is a she/ She sits on high over the land and the sea,” she concludes.

The record ends with “America,” the most powerful and melancholy track on the album. Reid sings about “chasing America” the American Dream, and the futility of what she concludes is a fool’s errand. “And all the parties they fade/ And yes my looks they’ll go away/ I’ll just be here in America/ But she never had a home for me,” she sings. While maybe true,  Europe loves her right now, and the smashing success of Californian Soil is imminent.

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