Love + War (Kwabs album)

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Love + War
Studio album by
Released11 September 2015
Recorded2014–15
Genre
Length45:56
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Kwabs chronology
Walk EP
(2014)
Love + War
(2015)
Singles from Love + War
  1. "Wrong or Right"
    Released: 3 February 2014
  2. "Walk"
    Released: 29 September 2014
  3. "Fight for Love"
    Released: 28 June 2015
  4. "Cheating on Me"
    Released: 4 December 2015

Love + War is the debut studio album by British singer Kwabs. It was released on 11 September 2015 through Atlantic Records.[1]

Background[edit]

In 2013, Kwabs signed to Atlantic Records after his cover versions of "Like a Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae and "The Wilhelm Scream" by James Blake went viral on YouTube.[2] In 2014, Kwabs released his debut EP Wrong or Right[3] and was nominated for 'Best Newcomer' at the MOBOs[4] before being shortlisted for the prestigious BBC Sound of 2015 poll.[5]

Kwabs was also nominated as 'Best R&B / Soul' artist at the MOBOs 2015[6] and for Best Push at the MTV EMAs 2015.[7]

Singles[edit]

"Wrong or Right" was the first single from the album and was released on 3 February 2014.

The second single taken from the album was "Walk", released on 29 September 2014. The song was number one in Germany[8] and went Platinum in Norway, as well as Gold in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

"Fight for Love" was released as the album’s third single on 28 June 2015.

Following the release of the album, "Cheating on Me" was released on 4 December 2015 as the fourth single.

Critical reception[edit]

The album received positive reviews. In a strong review, The Independent rated the album five out of five stars, calling it a "stunning debut".[9] In another review, The Line of Best Fit gave the album a rating of 9.5/10, describing it as "the best pop music in the U.K. right now".[10]

The album also received multiple favourable reviews from the likes of The Guardian, MTV, Sunday Times Culture, Mojo, Attitude, Time Out and The 405.

Track listing[edit]

Love + War
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Love + War"
4:13
2."Fight for Love"
3:38
3."Walk"TMS3:34
4."My Own"SOHN3:49
5."Look Over Your Shoulder"
  • Kwabs
  • Christopher Taylor
SOHN3:02
6."Perfect Ruin"
  • Kwabs
  • Royce Wood Junior
  • George Moore
Felix Joseph4:12
7."Forgiven"TMS3:52
8."Layback"
  • Kwabs
  • George Moore
Dave Okumu3:55
9."Make You Mine"
  • Kwabs
  • Cass Lowe
Cass Lowe3:44
10."Father Figure"
3:20
11."Wrong or Right"
  • Kwabs
  • Christopher Taylor
SOHN3:36
12."Cheating on Me"Felix Joseph5:01

Commercial performance[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 39
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 165
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 26
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[16] 24
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 58
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 26

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Love + War". iTunes. 2015-09-11. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  2. ^ Bromwich, Kathryn (2014-12-28). "Rising stars of 2015: musician Kwabs". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  3. ^ iTunes (2014-02-04). "Wrong Or Right EP". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  4. ^ Molloy, Antonia (2014-09-23). "Mobo Awards 2014 nominations: Sam Smith and Krept and Konan lead pack". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  5. ^ "2015 The Longlist". BBC. 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  6. ^ "Best RNB/Soul Act". MOBO. 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  7. ^ "Best RNB/Soul Act". MTV. 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  8. ^ "Walk Single". Offizielle Deutsche Charts. 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  9. ^ Gill, Andy (2015-08-28). "Kwabs, Love + War - Album review: Slow and steady has proved the right way to go". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  10. ^ Day, Laurence (2015-09-11). "Kwabs' debut is the best pop music in the UK right now". The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  11. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 41. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kwabs – Love+%2B+War". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  19. ^ "Kwabs | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 8 July 2019.