Ezra Collective's 'Here Because of Hope' Is a Triumphant, Generous Masterpiece of Grown-Up Joy
The easy version of an Ezra Collective record is a party. They have made those, they are extremely good at them, and nobody would have complained about another. Here Because of Hope is not that. It is seventeen tracks on Partisan, arranged in three chapters, each one opened by Letitia Wright reading, and the arc runs from melancholy to release rather than starting at release and staying there.
DIY, scoring it four out of five, put it exactly: “An expansive and mature record… The party is still here, of course, but they’re no longer relying on it to do all the work.”
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: The band’s whole argument lives here. DIY notes that “Don’t Worry,” “Blow Your Trumpet” and “Someday” get spacious, contemplative arrangements rather than the relentless groove the band could supply in their sleep — and a rhythm section confident enough to leave gaps is a rhythm section that has stopped auditioning.
The Spatial Dynamics: The palette is enormous and never muddy. Clash counts steel pans, samba, calypso, Afrobeats and garage inside a single record; DIY hears “Birdie Sings” go reggae-inflected and “El Corazon” lean Cuban. Best of all is “Black Flag,” which DIY describes as having “ghostly, spacious production,” as if it were cut in a room chosen for its echo.
Standout Performance
Femi Koleoso on percussion and Joe Armon-Jones on keys, both singled out by DIY — Koleoso for knowing which beats to leave out, Armon-Jones for the chordal colour that lets “All I Need” hold Leona Lewis without either party shrinking.
Why It’s Certified
⚡ The guest list — Pa Salieu on “Only Love,” Lila Iké on “Well Organised,” Leona Lewis on “All I Need,” Libianca on “Most High” — is a list of people given actual room rather than a feature slot.
🌈 “Most High” closes the record feeling, per DIY, like a church service. After sixteen tracks of argument, that is a real ending.
⚡ Clash’s line is the one to finish on: “Ezra Collective continue their journey with their most ambitious and emotionally expansive project to date.”