Tyla – ‘A*Pop’ review: safe, polished pop that could’ve gone further

Only five singles into her career, Tyla struck gold. ‘Water’, her 2023 single, became a global phenomenon, introducing amapiano to new audiences through its irresistible blend of R&B and South African club music. Her eponymous debut album followed the next year, and proved ‘Water’ wasn’t lightning in a bottle, cementing her place as one of pop’s brightest crossover stars. READ MORE: Syd on ‘Beard’, the return of The Internet and refusing to fit into a box: “I’ve never tried to make a hit” It’s not easy to keep that light shining, though. Although the build-up to the Johannesburg singer’s second album, ‘A*Pop’, suggested a technicolour pop spectacular on the way, it instead shows her shine is starting to dim. Beyond its strongest singles, the album repeatedly trades high energy for mood, settling into a surprisingly restrained collection of slow-burning love songs that rarely match the ambition of its rollout. Ironically, on ‘Feel Something’, Tyla repeatedly pleads that she wants someone to “make me feel something”, but the sentiment ends up applying to the song itself. Despite its twitching bassline and simmering sensuality, it never quite reaches the emotional climax it craves...