(Atlantic)
From innuendo-heavy anthems to soulful country, the Oakland singer rides the emotional rollercoaster on their fourth album
US singer-songwriter Kehlani doesn’t believe in emotional half measures. On 2020’s lockdown soundtrack, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, unhealthy relationships were laid bare over atmospheric R&B, while its folksy follow-up, Blue Water Road, fell headfirst into love. Crash dives deep again emotionally, but adds a more playful musical framework to songs that flit between horny bedroom soundtracks (the Jill Scott-assisted Sucia) and fiercely protective bangers (Next 2 U).
Over a sample of Coolie Dance Rhythm, the bubbling lead single After Hours sets the tone, its nostalgic, club-based R&B a perfect summer soundtrack. It’s quickly bettered by the glorious, innuendo-heavy oral sex anthem 8, which finds Kehlani’s versatile voice cooing softly over a rattling beat. Keen not to be boxed in by genre or mood, however, Better Not leans into soulful country, while Chapel, which rides the highs and lows of love, is a haunted rock ballad.