Olivia Dean, an upcoming artist from the United Kingdom, released her newest album The Art of Loving on September 26th. 

Recently, both Olivia and the album have been getting significant attention including her nomination for Grammy New Artist of the Year. To see whether the album lives up to its growing spotlight, two Prairie students listened and shared their thoughts on it.

The Art of Loving is Olivias’s second album and features several popular tracks, including “The Man I Need” and “A Couple Minutes.” The album leans into a romantic, emotional theme with jazz elements woven throughout. Prairie senior Daphne Dirks described the album as “heart touching and relatable,” giving it a 7/10. She says, “it feels like it was made for heartbroken people.” And noted that “while some of the slower songs can feel boring, the key tracks are beautifully sung.”

Prairie student Gabi Kay-Corrales offered a similar perspective, rating the album a 7.5/10. She liked the upbeat songs with jazz elements, however, Kay-Corrales also mentioned “some songs were repetitive,” which kept the album from reaching a higher score in her eyes. Overall, both listeners agreed that The Art of Loving has rich emotional depth and is easily relatable to her audience’s lives. 

It also seems to lack variety throughout the album. As Olivia Dean continues rising in the music industry, this album proves she has a clear voice and is a strong song writer.