Album of the Week: Kelela’s “New Avatar” – Stereogum
Kelela’s latest album, new avatar, defies conventional genre labels, making it challenging for critics to accurately describe the music she has created. The album transcends boundaries, revealing the fluidity and inadequacy of traditional classifications. Instead of merely pushing for novelty or experimental collisions, new avatar emanates a quiet tenderness that underlies every distorted sound or industrial beat present. Kelela seeks intimacy in spaces where language and genre might struggle to keep pace.
Having spent over a decade honing her craft, Kelela’s exploration of emotions, particularly tenderness, is evident throughout the album. Influenced by artists like Faith Evans and Anita Baker, she expresses a desire for love and connection that transcends weariness and cynicism. Reflecting on her past experiences, Kelela’s music delves into themes of loss, devastation, and renewal, filtering them through a lens of introspection and growth.
The sonic landscape of new avatar is characterized by elegant abrasion, featuring guitars that interact dynamically with Kelela’s distinctive voice. Whether scratchy and fuzzy or melancholic and haunting, the instrumentation adds layers of tension to the songs. Tracks like “goin down” showcase the juxtaposition of Kelela’s ethereal vocals against reverberating guitars and moody beats, evoking a sense of isolation and reflection.
The album’s closer, “if we meet again,” epitomizes its fascination with ambiguity and duality. Blurring the lines between organic and synthetic, familiar and uncanny, the track encapsulates the emotive core of the music. Kelela’s refusal to neatly resolve these uncertainties challenges the notion of genre labels as reductive and oversimplified.
Kelela’s genre-blending approach extends beyond mere experimentation, drawing from diverse influences such as Incubus, Linkin Park, and Janis Joplin. Rejecting simplistic classifications like “rock album,” she emphasizes the interconnectedness of musical genres, particularly the historical roots of Black music in popular music traditions. Collaborating with producer Oscar Scheller, Kelela crafts a sound that defies categorization, existing in a liminal space between R&B, rock, and electronic music.
One of the album’s strengths lies in its deliberate sequencing, allowing the music to unfold organically and draw listeners into Kelela’s world. Collaborations with emerging artists like Fousheé and PinkPantheress add fresh perspectives to the album, injecting moments of levity and euphoria amidst the introspective tracks. Kelela’s introspection and self-awareness permeate every song, transforming new avatar into a cohesive narrative of observation and response.
Ultimately, new avatar reflects Kelela’s unwavering sense of responsibility and agency in navigating complex emotions and experiences. Rather than passively documenting chaos, she actively shapes her responses to adversity and uncertainty, choosing tenderness and introspection in the face of distortion and grief. The album’s profound acceptance and resilience resonate deeply, inviting listeners into a world where vulnerability is a source of strength and connection.