Dawn Richard has straddled the mainstream pop and indie worlds as a member of the Diddy-convened R&B group Danity Kane and as a solo act with a taste for high-concept, sci-fi flavoured R&B.
Danity Kane came to an acrimonious end last year, leaving Richard to indulge the latter side on her second solo album. Whereas past releases filtered her traditional, melismatic R&B runs through a Peter Gabrielesque worldly surrealism, Blackheart is refreshingly unbeholden to the convention that requires R&B singers to balladeer non-stop at top volume.
Instead, working with producer Noisecastle III, Richard searches for a sound more uniquely “her.” Her imaginative, frozen planet of bloopy, contrasting sounds and irregular, crystalline rhythms are as prominent as her vocals – if not more so. Not that there aren’t any show-stopping moments, but her intuitive approach feels at one with the album’s dreamy, cosmic consciousness and nicely underscores the personal bent of the lyrics.
Top track: Swim Free
