11 tracks · 46 min
Despite quietly racking up nearly two million sales of her Greatest Hits collection, Gabrielle shows no signs of changing her leisurely career stance, with her fourth studio album coming a full five years after 1999's career-defining Rise. The classic Motown vibes of "Give Me a Little More Time" and "Out of Reach" may have become her trademark sound, but rather than retreading old ground, Play to Win shows she isn't averse to going a bit country, with its 11 tracks full of twanging steel guitars and blues rhythms owing more than a nod to the old-school Southern soul of Candi Staton. It's a subtle reinvention which seems to suit Gabrielle's brooding but harmonious vocals, which have previously been able to adapt to rock, 2-step garage, and lounge pop despite her safe, MOR reputation. On lead single "Stay the Same," she appears to effortlessly slip into the role of wounded country chanteuse on a melancholic, lightly strummed number which sits somewhere between the tender moments of early Oasis and the wistful bluegrass-pop of the Dixie Chicks. Co-written with longterm collaborator Johnathan Shorten, Julian Gallagher (Kylie Minogue), and Richard Stannard (Spice Girls), the album's str…
