Generally critically-liked British person being slightly less critically-liked.
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[6.17]
Alex Ostroff: The 90’s throwback production suited Yasmin well on her first two singles, flipping familiar sounds into new contexts that somehow suited them perfectly. On “Light Up”, she never manages to successfully bridge the disconnect between the clattering percussion and the relaxed reggae melody. The horns are a nice touch, though.
[6]
Jonathan Bogart: I only recently listened to the Katy B record (yes, I’m behind on everything), and this reminds my of all my favorite moments from it, the overused “Amen” break included. Or maybe I’m finally figuring out how to listen to celebratory post-dubstep British pop.
[8]
Katherine St Asaph: Yasmin’s tiny voice suggests equally tiny emotion, and the Amen break is given no material to break. Ms Dynamite and Katy B — hell, even Nero — sounded huge and engaged, but Yasmin’ll never light up the world while wielding only a keychain bulb.
[5]
Mallory O’Donnell: Minus the dnb trappings, this is basically a hip-house tune : it’s bottom-heavy, it’s swing-songy, it has live horn sounds. I’ll reward that mainly as a refreshing change of pace for UK step music. Or, it has a good beat and you can’t wig out to it.
[6]
Edward Okulicz: An incoherent but nearly irresistible melange; reggae, horns, break beats all make for a colourful backdrop. The surprise is that Yasmin doesn’t seem completely up to it — I loved her pensiveness over “Finish Line”, but over this she’s not letting go with the abandon and glee you’d expect of someone desiring to light up a party, let alone the world. She doesn’t sound bored, but she does sound kinda boring at times.
[6]
Brad Shoup: Shy FX puts in a typically grimy production – a nimble yet thick oldschool jungle backing – so it’s a real shame Yasmin treats the track like a job interview. All the elements are in place for the right conqueror: the proclamation horns, the dub folded on itself… and she just airs out her no-hater shit. “On My Own” was the place for this; I figured both parties understood that.
[6]