(Warp)
When Washington-born singer Kelela released her first mixtape, Cut 4 Me, in 2013, her fusion of sumptuous R&B vocals and harsh, avant garde electronica made a splash. But in the four years since, alternative R&B has gone from bleeding edge to genre du jour: in a class now crowded with thoroughly modern divas, has anyone has been saving Kelela a seat? As her debut album opens, the idea that the singer may have been left behind by the sound she helped establish doesn’t seem outlandish: Frontline is funky but plodding and retro in its staccato style. Thankfully, Take Me Apart soon proffers tracks that are both pop-minded and gratifyingly future-facing. Producer Arca may be her not-so-secret weapon in the latter regard, creating sublime but techy sonic hellscapes among the ambient synths and skittering beats.
Meanwhile, Kelela’s vocal stops Take Me Apart ending up as a fragmented series of sounds: consistently exquisite as it dances between lovesick confusion and shrewd sensuality.
Continue reading...by Rachel Aroesti via Electronic music | The Guardian
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