Olivia Dean has always had a way of making honesty sound like velvet. Two years on from her debut Messy, which turned her into an interesting new voice in British soul and earned her a Mercury nod, she is back with The Art of Loving, a sophomore collection that is intimate yet expansive, personal yet primed for a wider stage. Dean has grown into her voice, not just vocally but emotionally, and this time she is letting her light pour in.

The early singles say it all. Nice to Each Other is as sweet as its title, a gently infectious plea for kindness that has been looping endlessly on TikTok. “I think this song and video represents a playfulness in me that I am excited for people to see,” Dean explains, and that lightness shines through. Man I Need pushes harder, a burst of rhythm and yearning that has glided to the top end of the UK singles chart. With The Art of Loving, Olivia Dean is not only widening her reach but also redefining what British soul can sound like in 2025: deeply personal, unashamedly catchy, and completely her own.

Dean expressed being braver, happier, more confident in an interview with PAPER, admitting, “I am a completely different person in some ways … I feel a lot more confident in what I have to say and how I want to say it.” That evolution runs through the album, from the sunlit grooves to the slower, more vulnerable turns. On So Easy (To Fall in Love), she offers a reminder to hold onto self worth: “Sometimes, when we get into relationships … we focus a lot on … how brilliant they are. But I think it is important to remember that you are also excellent … Why not?”

The soundscape of the album as a whole is lush, with Lady Lady sounding so effortlessly rich even as a pre release track. Dean’s vocals shine throughout: soft and silken on the quieter moments, then sharpened with conviction on Let Alone The One You Love, where she scorches a lover for their failings. If the intimate tracks pull you closer, the more upbeat playful catchiness of tracks like Baby Steps prove she can move between whispered confession and full bodied plea without breaking her emotional thread.

Part of that intimacy comes from the way the record was made. Dean immersed herself completely, turning an east London house into both studio and sanctuary. “I brought photos from my house, and I slept there. I would have friends round, outside of studio time, and I had parties there … it was this real, living, breathing space. I was really deep in it, and maybe sometimes too deep in it,” she recalls. That closeness seeps into the music, and though the album runs under forty minutes, it lingers like a whole night spent in good company, warm and safe.

By the time the album closes, The Art of Loving feels like Dean does not put love in a box. She lets it stretch across friendship, independence, yearning, and self belief. In doing so, she proves that her growth is not just musical but personal, widening her reach without ever losing herself. Vulnerable and playful, Olivia Dean has delivered a record that reminds us honesty does not need to cut like hard truth but can rest gently as soft affirmation.

4.5/5

Olivia Dean’s ‘The Art of Loving’ is released Friday 26th September 2025 on Capitol Records.