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Ravyn Lenae should be R&B’s greatest stored secret. Whereas her contemporaries SZA, H.E.R. and Summer time Walker are bona fide pop stars, for years Lenae has remained a cult favorite. However the Chicagoan’s efforts to push the boundaries of pop R&B ought to turn into extra broadly recognised along with her second album ‘Chicken’s Eye’.
Like Aaliyah and even Billie Eilish, Lenae sings softly – her music fluttery and furtive. She generated buzz as a teen, becoming a member of Smino’s Midwestern collective Zero Fatigue and dealing with producer Monte Booker. Beginning in 2015, Lenae launched a trilogy of EPs culminating within the Steve Lacy-produced ‘Crush’. After a lull, she reemerged in 2022 with ‘Hypnos’, a debut album that was auspicious if sometimes diffident.
‘Chicken’s Eye’, although, feels intentional – like its creator has come into their very own. Now 25, Lenae has settled in Los Angeles and for this report tapped in new collaborator: Californian hip-hop stalwart DJ Dahi, famend for his productions with Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Drake. As government producer, Dahi brings shiny synths, snappy drums and aptitude to Lenae’s dreamy aesthetics.
Lenae opens ‘Chicken’s Eye’ with the whimsical ‘Genius’, a bouncy throwback to 2017’s funky single ‘Sticky’, about merely getting by in life. However, nothing is predictable right here. Lenae presents what’s her equal of Solange’s ‘Sol-Angel And The Hadley St. Desires’ – the transformative opus that arguably ushered within the progressive R&B period. Certainly, Lenae spreads her wings.
The theme of ‘Chicken’s Eye’ is emotional perspective, Lenae’s imaginative songs akin to fragmentary conversations or reminiscences. Most shifting is the latest single ‘One Want’, by which she addresses an absent father (performed by a supposedly-retired Infantile Gambino) crooning, “Referred to as me on my birthday/I assumed you’d be in your method/Candles burned right down to the cake/Nonetheless not seeing your face” with wistful Motown harmonies.
The singer-songwriter experiments with sonic textures, incorporating instrumentation from various genres into her avant R&B, relatively than merely reproducing them, playlist-style. ‘Sweet’ reveals a lilting reggae rhythm, with bursts of rock guitar elsewhere. Lenae goes indie on the Anderson .Paak co-write ‘Love Me Not’, abandoning these previous hushed vocal tones as she ponders romantic dedication. It could possibly be Amy Winehouse fronting The B-52s.
Classically educated, Lenae additionally exhibits off some Minnie Riperton operatics on ‘From Scratch’. With Janet Jackson’s fabled producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on board, ‘Dream Lady’ is her foray into Kali Uchis-esque bossa nova – although Ty Dolla $ign, the album’s solely different featured visitor, appears superfluous right here.
Intriguingly adventurous, ‘Chicken’s Eye’ marks Lenae increasing her musical repertoire and exploring new vistas – an formidable accomplishment.
Particulars:
- Launch date: August 9
- Document label: Atlantic Information
The publish Ravyn Lenae – ‘Chicken’s Eye’ evaluate: a slept-on auteur takes flight appeared first on NME.
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Cyclone Wehner
2024-08-09 04:01:50
Source hyperlink:https://www.nme.com/critiques/album/ravyn-lenae-birds-eye-review-3781940?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ravyn-lenae-birds-eye-review