ALBUM REVIEW: Angels Pulse - Blood Orange

DAY 12: Looking into one of my GOATS album

Angel’s Pulse is Blood Orange’s 5th studio album, released on the 12th of July 2019. As a huge fan of his work, I have been following his journey for a long time since the release of Negro Swan and his previous alias, Lightspeed Champion. As I write this review, you can view this as an homage and appreciation to his music, production and artistic direction. The album has many notable features such as Justine Skye, Tinashe, Joba (BROCKHAMPTON), Toro Y moi, Memphis Legends Project Pat and Gangsta Boo and many more. Listening through this album has, without a doubt, blended so well into his already angelic and surreal sound.

Angels Pulse, at first glance, feels sort of a constructive album, a concept album if you’d like to say, which consists of synths, harmonies and samples and many drum patterns. He has drawn indie/alternative influences in creating a beautiful body of work that focuses on mystery, discovery and love. He also has included queer experiences in his lyrics and sound that tell you he is trying to create a story. Like Negro Swan, Dev Hynes's Lyrics are very ethereal in the way that builds his music around what he is saying, you can sort of notice that he writes like a poet. This was something he mentioned in his NPR Tiny Desk back in 2019. The album starts with "I Wanna C You," a short and straight-to-the-point song that sort of feels like an indie-produced record setting the tempo for the record. He seems to be missing the person in question and sings about how eager he is to see them and speak on his troubles or feelings face to face. Listening to this song in particular makes me believe that he has the ability to make a song feel orchestrated but in a comfortable and simple way. Additionally, the warm reverb that he adds to his vocals adds to the pleasure of his instrumentals.

There were many standout moments as I was listening, such as the vocal ability of Ian Isaiah, a real icon in the Queer scene and someone that has been working with Dev Hynes since Coastal Grooves. Besides being part of his vocal ensemble, Ian Isaiah also releases music as a solo entity, releasing quirky and vibrant Pop songs. I have been a huge fan of the way Dev Hynes and Ian Isaiah collaborate and continuously prove why they are such a perfect duo. Ian’s vocal run in Berlin was honestly one of my favourite moments from him entirely, Holy will being an honourable mention from the album Negro Swan. Gold Teeth featuring Project Pat, Gangsta Boo and Tinashe was sent from Heaven, and Dev Hynes decided to sample’ Rinky Dink II/we’re gonna rumble’ to put out a different take on Project Pat's iconic song. Suppose you are not aware of Project Pat and Gangsta Boo, to summarize quickly. In that case, these are Memphis Natives from the United States who pioneered the genre, Crunk Music, A grimy, Joyous and fast-tempo rap genre that has gained recognition and is deemed highly influential in the modern sound of rap music. Other artists such as Juicy J and the Rap Collective Three 6 Mafia have contributed immensely to the uprise of Crunk Music with legendary collaborations with OutKast and Lil Jon.

In the end, Dev has allowed us to immerse ourselves in yet another surreal album, though not different from his previous work, he has proved himself to be the influential and talented figure he is in the music industry and making experimental music as a pop artist. He continuously breaks down barriers with his music, becoming more confident in his craft, especially now that he is making a name for himself in the orchestral world. he forged both his worlds into one with the well-constructed album. This album as a whole is a collection of introverted and warm songs that, as always, tell a story. Dev Hynes will continue to show the world why we should honour his name and his presence when he is making music.