Late Nights & Early Mornings is the debut solo album from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Marsha Ambrosius, a member of the English R&B act Floetry. The 13-track album boasts production from the likes of Just Blaze, Dre & Vidal and Rich Harrison.
The opener, “Anticipation,” and the follow-up track “With You” (co-written by Alicia Keys) offer a sensual feel. The title track has a heavy Prince sound, from the high-pitched vocals to the beat, which samples Purple Rain’s “The Beautiful Ones.”
The first single, “Hope She Cheat on You,” is spiteful: “I hope she cheat on you with a basketball player / Hope that she Kim Kardashian her way up / Don’t know the difference between a touchdown and a layup / Got you on Viagra in order for you to stay up.” The track is funny and showcases easy commercial appeal.
“Faraway,” the second single, is a powerful ballad about the loss of a loved one.
Although the album starts off strong, the middle of the album is gets dull with depressing or love-centric tracks — not to mention Ambrosius often sounds as if she’s yelling rather than singing.
But a cover of Portishead’s “Sour Times” is a gem, delivered with superbly on-point soul.
Other tracks that stand out are “Lose Myself” and “Your Hands,” on which Ambrosius diverts back to the classic Floetry sound fans fell in love with.
“The Break-Up Song” explores the honest and very real moment when a relationship is over and there’s no way to fix it. The track is so raw — she delivers emotions so true they’re almost palpable.
A remixed version of “Butterflies,” originally written by Ambrosius for Michael Jackson and featured on Jackson’s Invincible, also landed on the album.
Through playful melodies and raw vocals, Ambrosius offers a well-balanced debut full of sensuality, human experience, femininity and genuine emotion — the kind of album that’s worth losing sleep over.
