Life without Kelela is scorned, barren and scarred.
The shells of homes, distortion of buildings and the lost souls without a light, crumble the hearts into brittle concrete. Yet we received new avatar on Friday 10th of July 4 PNA (pre new avatar). Kelela’s 3rd album, blistered with electric guitars and stringent in her elaborately fervorous vocals. In the year 4 PNA ‘idea 1’ signals its arrival with its looped, soothing chords, anticipating impact. The impact cratering a new landscape washing clean the desolation with a shoegazey noise. The dawn of a new sonic epoch.
It is now the year 1 ANA (after new avatar) and ‘point blank’ sprouts ferocity and reclamation that summons a Cut 4 Me sensibility. Thunderous chopped breaks slice the synths and grow vines that bandage the crumbled and hollow aortic structures. ‘goin down’ leaks bridled emotional unrest as the guitars burn in the painful background. Small fires ignite in homes of the scarred landscape as Kelela’s integrity ignites and sets alight to the feigning love she receives.
Still aching, Kelela maintains her boundaries yet clutches at the strings of once was, not wanting to let go, on ‘outta time’ w/ A. K. Paul. The track broods and flexes its more sultry muscles as A. K. Paul caresses the production with his melodic strings and into his verse at the tail end. Making way for the shimmery and hopeful, ‘against me’ and ‘crystalize’, a morning dew finds a softer place to land. The foliage gilded in purple lavender, green snapdragons and trees of thick canopies, paint the concrete ruins in a glittery shade. Cooling the heat and tension of earlier years PNA.
The year is now 2026 ANA and the weather in this flourishing life continues its dark candour. These ancient ruins are yet to be reinhabited and reloved.
‘retaliation lullaby’ rescinds and calms the nerves as the song opens to sounds of rain and patter, followed by a cycle of idyllic chords. The urging to break patterns and recoil from reactive habits, floods and fades like rain clouds over terrain. Thunder returns and ‘linknb’ dignifies the guitar in the electronic, rnb setting and engraves new avatar’s thesis into her lyrics. Lightning then strikes in ‘dont piss me off’, with grimey textures that lure the eyes and ears of a population. Positively charged layers of vocal treatments and adlibs perforate the post chorus, enough to make any girl cry in a club.
Kelela concludes the album with 3 strong rnb focussed tracks; ‘new life forms’ finds Fousheé and Kelela collaborating on a glorious glittery production as all the broken glass moulds into glittery mirrors while reflecting ribbons of golden starlight. ‘the bridge’ built in east African pride with PinkPantheress is an echoey world where strobe lights and choreographed dancing are syphoned from an eclipsed sun. ‘if we meet again’ pirouettes in sonic ablation in turn fortifying her boundaries as a lover.
Life in this ex-wasteland is now radiant with buoyancy. If you were to peer into their homes you’d see the people of this now robust, thriving city relish in the dance of ecstasy that Kelela has summoned.
Kelela makes music for people “who wish to feel that it's ok to wear their heart on their sleeve”. She makes music specifically for the queer black people who adore a home in the musical friction between Brandy > RES > Aaliyah > Nirvana > Incubus.
Kelela makes music for your renewal, bringing a new face to alternative rnb, a new avatar.
Words by Badbitchbenny