Jae Stephens: Audacity review – a thrilling lesson in why more debut albums should go for broke

(Def Jam) After five EPs in in seven years, the Dallas native with the big voice pours everything into this bonkers cauldron of maximalist R&B and hyperactive pop There is so, so much happening on Jae Stephens’ debut album Audacity. Thankfully, it seems like mess is her medium.

Although the 29-year-old Dallas native is often sold as a big voice – and she undoubtedly does have a big voice – her debut album has more in common with hyperactive, magnetic records such as PinkPantheress’s Fancy That or Salute’s True Magic: recent albums whose need for speed and sweetly toned maximalism fostered an irrepressible sense of personality. Stephens is an apt case study of a career in the contemporary pop industry: she started writing, producing and…