EGO ELLA MAY - Good Intentions

Few frills, zero distractions, and certainly no narrative escamotage - just plenty of innate good taste: that's perhaps the best way to sum up the essence of "Good Intentions", the new album by Ego Ella May, the Anglo-Nigerian jazz singer-songwriter from South London. Hers is a quietly probing voice, set against meticulously crafted electro-acoustic production subtleties built alongside a select crew of collaborators from the scene, from Tom Excell and Melo Zed to Wu-Lu and Alfa Mist, with J Warner guesting on the spectral downtempo weave of the title track, one of the most compelling moments on the tracklist.

A delicate vocalist who never overreaches, with a taste that feels out of time, Ego settles gracefully over circular piano and guitar patterns, while bass and drums hold the rhythm in the background - nothing flashy, in short, but while the listen may seem uniform at first, the twelve tracks on the album slowly take shape like figures emerging from the fog.

There are echoes of música popular brasileira drifting through the notes of "We're Not Free", then a hip-hop-inflected bass line propping up "Love Is A Heavy Thing", or that dreamy, string-laced funk in the style of Minnie Riperton that makes "Pot Luck Baby" an irresistible delight - how could you not fall for such a trap?

Helped along by its striking cover art, "Good Intentions" reveals a reserved nature, yet one confident in its own means: there's real richness in the lounge textures of "Footwork", reminiscent of early Alice Russell, while the engaging "What You Waiting For" is cut from different cloth, carried by the faintest afro-dance inflections recalling Emma-Jean Thackray and Sy Smith. It's intriguing how the ethereal "Tarot", surely the most introspective track of the bunch, is immediately followed by the sturdy groove of "What We Do": "Good Intentions" knows how to pace its tracklist with care at just the right moment, never losing sight of the listener - a quality felt even more strongly when the crystalline piano solo of the vibrant "Sister" arrives, one of the album's defining moments.

The two bookends of the record are equally rich in ideas: the compelling, quietly gospel-tinged harmonic interplay of opener "Hold On" features Rosie Lowe on backing vocals, while by contrast the sea breeze of closer "Back At Sea" is laid over an acoustic guitar idea that could almost have come from an old Nick Drake record - a subtlety that could win over even listeners not necessarily drawn to this genre. Because "Good Intentions" is neither an overt album nor one written with an eye toward conquering vast audiences; instead, it reveals itself gradually, unfurling a considerable richness - all it takes is the patience to lose yourself in it at the right moment.

It's easy to think of fellow artists like Eliza, Fatima and Georgia Duncan, other skilled female voices who inhabit that borderland between jazz and a whole host of other sounds, from soul to electronica with an almost rock-tinged edge.

Ego Ella May now offers her own contribution with a gentleness that's genuinely moving: “Don’t Take My Lover Away”, she sings at one point, betraying the irrational fear of losing a husband she's madly in love with. It's impossible not to feel vulnerable in the face of feelings so simple yet so universal.

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05/04/2026