If I may be so bold as to (very loosely) paraphrase Martin Luther King: I’ve never really had a dream. Everything I’ve done has just sort of… happened.
That’s not Kezia Gill talking.
Because with “All On Red”, Gill sounds like someone who’s stopped waiting for permission and decided to shove every last chip into the middle of the table.
For this record she’s gathered together some of Nashville’s finest players and handed the producer’s chair to the brilliant Alyssa Bonagura. On paper, it feels like a Hail Mary — the musical equivalent of sticking your keeper up for a last-minute corner in a cup tie.
And somehow, impossibly, it flies straight into the top corner.
The opener, “Life You Always Dreamed Of,” lays the cards on the table immediately. Grasp the nettle. Do it. When Gill sings “I got plans in my mind,” you believe her — because this sounds like the moment where plans turn into action.
“Dublin’s Outta Whiskey” follows, and suddenly the voice, the chorus, the sheer lift of it all kicks in. This is a song built to drink a room dry, and it knows it.
There’s a warm swagger running through “Whiskey In A Wine Glass” and “Love You Next” — the latter especially personal in feel — before “Ride Or Die” rolls in, all confidence and attitude, carrying real Elles Bailey vibes. The knowing grin is right there in lines like “Prosecco and no judgement,” delivered with a smile that suggests Gill knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Gut Feeling” keeps that momentum going, sleek and instinctive, before “Money In The Bank” lands with a truth that’s hard to ignore: if this were an American singer — and not an English woman from Derby — we’d already be talking about arena trajectories and late-night TV slots. You’d better listen now.
Gill also has that rare knack of making things sound just a little bit dirty without ever forcing it, something she leans into beautifully on “Barbed Wire,” which shifts the pace and adds a sting to the tail. “If Heaven Has A Honky Tonk” then does exactly what it promises, while “What If” — piano-led and reflective — gently pulls things back towards the start.
Closer “This House Would Sing” leaves you warm, content, and quietly convinced you’ve just heard something important.
I’ve seen Kezia Gill a couple of times now, and it’s always been obvious how much this music — her music — means to her. This time, though, it feels like she’s gone: sod this, let’s do it.
It’s a gamble, sure. But when it comes to the songs on “All On Red,” she’s hit the jackpot. And if there’s any justice in the world, this record will do exactly what it deserves to do.
RATING: 8.5/10
