On Kehlani’s final album, 2022’s blue water highway, the L.A.-based singer-songwriter dove into the comforts of affection by way of ethereal guitar pop. It was a slight adjustment to their formulation following albums rife with heated R&B and moody ambiance, a brand new wrinkle reflecting a maturing sensitivity to tales of affection misplaced and gained. On Crash, Kehlani’s fourth studio album, they flip as soon as once more, this time towards a seize bag of genres that replicate the dizzying ups and downs of need and self-examination. Whereas it typically appears like Kehlani is making an attempt on a sequence of flashy outfits to see which one matches finest, it’s nonetheless exhilarating when Crash dials up their signature swagger.
For Kehlani, the titular crash symbolizes a sudden, temporary spike of emotion. The album evokes that depth by freewheeling music that roves between kinds, sometimes throughout the similar track: buoyant dancehall, trap-inflected R&B, and country-tinged ballads are just some of the flavors Kehlani whips up. Midway by opener “GrooveTheory,” they change from girl-group croons to stomping come-ons with the clicking of a radio dial. “Let’s make a film/Then come and present me the sequel,” they purr, providing a simple inroad to Crash’s frisky perspective. On the equally slow-burning “Sucia,” Kehlani will get an help from Jill Scott, who exhibits up in sultry spoken-word mode, and Puerto Rican rapper Younger Miko, who slides on the track’s beat with slinky ease. It’s a moody spotlight that depicts Kehlani within the depths of lust: “I don’t need Miami, I would like Medellín/Take you from the celebration to the trampoline,” they urge.
That target need programs all through most of Crash, lending its finest songs a flirty levity. On “What I Need,” Kehlani threads a chip-tuned Christina Aguilera pattern with lure hi-hats and thundering bass, giving it a darkened glower that ratchets up the bravado. It’s one of many stronger, extra deliberate pattern selections on Crash, more energizing than a lot of the nostalgia bait that runs rampant in modern pop and R&B. “After Hours” achieves an analogous flex, rewiring the riddim popularized by Nina Sky’s traditional “Transfer Ya Physique” right into a breezy plea for an extended night time with a lover; it’s a featherlight, upbeat reinterpretation that doubles as an professional showcase for Kehlani’s vocals, which throughout Crash sound extra syrupy and relaxed than ever.
When Crash slows down, the outcomes are extra combined. On the pared-back ballad “Higher Not,” Kehlani reaches for a country-tuned wistfulness that treads too near faceless folk-rock. “Vegas,” with its keening, ’80s-nodding guitar solos, suffers an analogous destiny and concurrently falls into cliched songwriting (“What occurs right here stays right here”) that winds up sounding like a advertising marketing campaign. It’s emblematic of a few of Crash’s much less imaginative songs, just like the “crying within the membership” motif that runs by the refrain of the dancehall-tinged, Omah Lay-featuring “Tears.” The lyrics can really feel like an afterthought, even when Kehlani’s sheer charisma and honey-smooth supply makes them go down straightforward.
Kehlani recovers on “Deep,” a spotlight that unfurls a ramification of bass-heavy psych-rock to take inventory of their tumultuous life story. That includes background vocals from household together with their daughter, the track remembers Rihanna’s cathartic, conflicted ANTI, with a careening refrain that rides on Kehlani’s trilling, emotive supply and heavy, skull-rattling beats. Tracing an arc from sleeping on a concrete flooring to present-day success, it’s the sort of sharp, introspective work that colours Kehlani’s finest music: a welcome counter to a few of Crash’s excesses.
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