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8.1/10
Growing alternate R&B artist Kelela has finally come around to releasing her fourth studio album 'Raven', a longly awaited release following her most recent album 'Take Me Apart'. On this project, you're taken through a cacophony of synths, groovy drum beats, and beautiful vocals.
"Washed Away" opens the album with stunning vocals from Kelela. It's a decent track that warms you up for the upcoming one-hour venture but offers not much to really write home about. "Happy Ending" had the same story. It was instrumentally unamusing and didn't seem to evolve much, but the vocal production was well done. "Let It Go" is when things started to pick up, offering up beautiful harmonies and bass; it's a pretty and peaceful track. "On The Run" is a simple but groovy cut with wonderful percussion and a nice sliding bass. I enjoyed the synth break, and the overall quality of production with the immersion shown by the real-life sound effects. "Missed Call" had nice fast-paced drums but was an underwhelming track that wasn't as pleasing as the previous two; it lacked depth. I loved the slow drums and slow vocal pacing on "Closure", along with Kelela's melody. Rahrah Gabor had great flow and a solid verse on top of that. I loved the yawning synths on "Contact", the type of track you just close your eyes to in order to really feel the instrumental. "Fooley" is a track with a captivating start containing deep, distorted bass and rough synths. The vocal production stands out on this track as well, sounding very dreamy and sleepy (in a good way). Although there is not much to offer up lyrically, the overall production is solid.
For me, the album started to pick up significantly starting with the ninth track "Holier". Another song with a great intro, this one containing synths that just overtake the ears with the undertone of deep, vibrating bass. The vocal production is absolutely luscious and lyrically is great as well. "Raven" is a stand-out track on the album, with hypnotic synths that stick in the background throughout the track, and a surprising but smooth switch into a drum beat about three minutes in. The track very effortlessly transitions into the next track "Bruises", a track with boppy drums and satisfying hi-hats. The vocal performance on this track is wonderful too, with nice little harmonies from Kelela. "Sorbet" is a more casual and groovy listen, with light but gripping synths, starry layered vocals, and minimalistic reverbed drums. "Divorce" follows one of my favorite tracks on the album. This track again has a hypnotic start to it, layered with decadent synths and beautiful bass. This track is stand-out in terms of production, you can hear the quality and attention to detail especially here. "Enough for Love" also has stellar production, with the cinematic touch of what sounds like waves crashing over Kelela at the end. With that comes a classic 808 bass with punchy drums, a catchy hook, and buried synths. The closing track, "Far Away" has nearly identical vocals to the intro track, but grander-sounding synths. This is undoubtedly her best vocal performance on the album and is undoubtedly a majestic and cohesive closing track.
Although it is underwritten at times and underwhelming, Kelela proves with this album that she'll continue to experiment and push the boundaries of R&B and do so very successfully.
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