4.5/5 An album that is not trying to create hits – and maybe not even songs?
Three years after the release of her breakthrough and critically acclaimed album: A Seat at the Table, Solange returns with an equally exciting and ambient album, boasting production credits from HipHop giants; Metro Boomin, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Steve Lacy and Pharrell and littered with vocal contributions from the likes of Gucci Mane, Playboi carti and Sampha, When I get Home is a contemporary RnB/Neo-Soul melting pot injected with Baroque-Trap at its core.
On this record Solange chooses to have a breezy flow of songs that could be likened to concepts and ideas rather than whole polished pieces of work, when this works in tracks like “Almeda” and “Down with the Clique” it creates abstract and dreamy atmospheres that slowly sink through your body and soul, with fluttering, airy vocals that are often repetitive- reminiscent of PlayBoi Carti’s beloved style. However, often throughout the album it really doesn’t work, Solange’s soft and far from energetic voice fails to carry songs which are arranged like her singing should, creating a whole host of songs that are forgettable and tame. It could be argued that these were problems in her last album, but the ingenious production buried the issues in a sea of masterful ambience- None of the tracks on this album can be compared to the emotive hits from her previous body of work such as “Cranes in The Sky” and “Dont Touch My Hair”, some come teasingly close, unfortunately never reaching that magnum opus level.
My Skin My Logo is a modern duet where Solange and Gucci Mane play the role of each others hype men over a punchy bassline which attempts to drive the track. Solange incorporates clever word play but herself and Gucci’s rapping comes across slow and lethargic over quite a barren beat, I’m bewildered as to what good they thought would come from putting Gucci Mane over a slow R&B record, this track sounds straight out of New Orleans, next time I beg they leave Gucci at home in Atlanta.
I’m completely in love with the effulgent, infectious, synth chord progressions in “I’m a Witness” and “Things I imagined”, glittering like they were plucked straight from Tyler the Creator’s latest EP Flower Boy, there is no doubt he was involved in bringing his distinct sparkling sound to these numbers. Solange then proceeds to pour her luscious vocals over the top like sweet honey on strawberries, resulting in gorgeous tracks with soothing mids that wrapped around my heart.
Throughout the album Solange’s dynamics are pretty vanilla, I felt her personality displayed far more through her lyricism than the expression and performance of her vocals, in the track “binz” her amusing verses around coloured people’s time are one of the few moments Solange exhibits playfulness, as she approaches the track with a bouncy reggae flow. It’s a shame this energy is lost on “jerrod” where her vocals wander over the beat culminating in a sluggish and drowsy song.
The definite standout track of the Album is the phenomenal “Almeda”, where Solange uses a minimalist instrumental following the recent hip hop movement which leans towards more bare tracks and trance inducing repetition. Celebrating beautiful black culture with addictive lyrics layered over mind enslaving, high filtered synth and piano runs. Playboi carti’s ad-libs and verse are nothing but perfect, he uses his insanely popular, high-pitch baby voice to swag rap his way over the perpetual instrumental- which sonically seems like it was designed especially for him.
The end of “Almeda” transitions beautifully into the next track on the album, “Time(is)”, which is honestly a very underwhelming song and even more disappointing when remembering Solange and Sampha created the powerful masterpiece “Don’t touch my hair”. However, as aforementioned the transition is smooth and silky, which is a theme throughout the album. Solange interweaves a fantastically diverse set of interludes into When I Get Home, which transform the album into a gently flowing experience full of different soundscapes and feelings. This brings me on to my last point.
It is well worth mentioning that a lot of the themes Solange discusses throughout this album are female-centric, therefore It’s often difficult to relate and stay on the wavelength Solange is emitting. Girls will connect with the album in a different way than I can, because that is the demographic Solange intended to really feel her work, and I think that’s absolutely fine.
In my opinion this album should viewed as a complete body of work, after my initial listens where I was judging it by the strength of the tracks as individual items, I didn’t enjoy it. It felt like I was listening to leaked snippets of her songs. Then I listened to it as one complete piece of art. Solange is not playing the role of an entertainer on this album, she is an artist. Choosing to create a whole experience than individual hits, once you can defragment the album whilst listening it truly transforms it into a beautiful experience that my mind could get lost in. Solange is not trying to create hits – and maybe not even songs? She is expressing herself artistically and her chosen medium is sound.
transitions/Almeda/created for females?/bleak vocals/Carti and Tyler influence/sonic shape/where to listen
