Album Review: Blood Orange - Negro Swan

The latest album from Blood Orange, aka Devonte Hynes, follows on from 2016's critically lauded Freetown Sound and delivers on high expectations with a mash of urban groove, hip hop and R&B sounds that cover topical themes including race, sexual preference and oppression.

Having drawn comparisons to D'Angelo and Kendrick Lamar in the past, who themselves have similar themes, Hynes' approach is nonetheless distinct, often less confrontational, and on Negro Swan filtered through the lens of optimism. The record as a whole has an uplifting fast/slow/fast pace and interchangeable styles that add mixes of new wave and art rock that echo other progressive artists such as Prince, Toro Y Moi and Outkast.

Charcoal Baby is a standout track and the basis for the album title, opener Orlando is a slow-burn groove, and the likes of Puff Daddy, ASAP Rocky and Georgia Anne Muldrow feature throughout. It's an eclectic mix of music that manages to retain some of the minimalist multi-instrumentalism of Hyne's other alter ego, Lightspeed Champion. One of the record's best songs, Out Of Your League, appears toward the end and must be a clear ode to Bowie's Ashes To Ashes. In fact, the last four tracks really deliver on an album that will surely be on 2018 album of the year lists - not bad for a guy who broke out of Ilford in East London.