Olivia Dean has never been afraid of being open and honest. On her 2023 debut Messy, the London-born singer-songwriter built a space in neo-soul with songs that balanced vulnerability and confidence, earning her Mercury Prize and multiple BRIT nominations. Now, with her second album The Art Of Loving, Dean widens the frame, exploring the many forms of connection — romantic, platonic, and self-love — with tenderness and purpose.

Much of the album was built in a studio she constructed in East London, a personal space designed to foster intimacy in the music. The result feels personal, full of songs imploring you to lean closer rather than push you back with bravado. “I wanted this record to feel like warmth,” Dean explained. And she delivers with melodies glowing with soul, jazz, and pop inflections.

The lead single, “Nice To Each Other,” released in late May, welcomed us to her musical world. It’s a playful meditation on independence and intimacy, the “push and pull” of modern dating. Dean’s voice glides between sensitivity and strength, capturing the contradictions of wanting closeness without losing yourself. It’s both catchy and thoughtful, a hallmark of her songwriting.

While Messy showed Dean as one of the most promising new voices in British soul, The Art Of Loving feels like the work of an artist stepping fully into herself. The songs don’t just chronicle love in its romantic sense, but also its everyday presence; in friendship, in family, in the hard work of accepting yourself for who you are. That broader lens makes the album resonate beyond just heartbreak or desire. It feels like something bigger.

Olivia Dean has always been a natural storyteller, and here she sharpens that skill. Her phrasing and delivery are understated but deliberate, giving the songs a conversational quality that makes them linger. If Messy was about growing up, The Art Of Loving is about settling into who you are and realizing that love, in its many shades, is at the center of that discovery.