A remarkable percentage of pop songs are written about love. Though it's a common experience in our lives, no two people seem to feel exactly the same way about it, which is doubtless one of the reasons it's a favorite theme for songwriters. Back in 1976, Joan Armatrading enjoyed a critical and commercial breakthrough when her song "Love and Affection" hit the U.K. singles charts, and 45 years on, she still hasn't run out of things to say about the heady emotions that come with a love affair. 2021's Consequences is an album devoted to songs about love, and if Armatrading wasn't in the throes of a new romance when she wrote these songs, she clearly remembers vividly what it feels like. Songs like "To Be Loved," "Natural Rhythm," and "Glorious Madness" are full of the joyous rush of well-requited devotion, and "While you were falling in love/I was already there" is a simple, eloquent summation of the gratitude of the heart. At the same time, Armatrading knows that love is never simple, and the title song finds her ruminating over her mistakes past, present, and future, and "To Anyone Who Will Listen" is the sound of someone reaching out for the comfort they need but don't quite feel. As has become her habit, Armatrading recorded Consequences at her home studio, multi-tracking all the vocal and instrumental parts herself, and the production and arrangements lean to a clean and streamlined electronic sound, using the elements of dance music without the insistent pulse, and the contrast between the emotional warmth of the lyrics and the clean surfaces of the music is surprisingly effective. At the age of 70, in a recording career that's lasted nearly 50 years so far, Joan Armatrading sounds engaged, passionate, and fearless on Consequences; she hasn't lost her step as a songwriter and has embraced self-production and home recording with aplomb. This would be an impressive first salvo from a new artist, and coming from a seasoned veteran, it's a truly welcome sign that her creative well isn't about to run dry.