A twisting route to
Kehlani
's second proper album reached the final stretch on Valentine's Day 2020 with
YG
's "Konclusions," the most personal in a string of intermediary tracks on which the singer was featured. It was a fairly typical (if highly detailed) question of commitment from the headliner, answered in the affirmative by
's hook. Only a few days later,
responded to the contrary with "Valentine's Day (Shameful)," a two-part ballad in which they accosted a cheating, unappreciative ex. While the song didn't appear on May arrival
It Was Good Until It Wasn't
, its considered verses, linked by a chorus that only probed deeper into
's soul -- without sugar-coated sentiments for mainstream appeal -- most certainly indicated the LP's direction.
is similarly less pop than
SweetSexySavage
, their full-length debut, and considerably more intense than the commercial 2019 mixtape
While We Wait
. Rarely does it deviate from hot-blooded vexation and sensuality, inwardly and outwardly basking in and critiquing the intoxicating and ultimately poisonous aspects of relationships. Although there are some clumsy similes and metaphors, and a surplus of astrological references, its lyricism is undeniable, abundant in pithy rebukes and come-ons. And while the predominantly crawling tempos can have a tranquilizing effect, there's nuance to nearly every cut with high-level songwriting to match. Take the
Boi-1da
-led "Serial Lover," like a smoothed-out late-'90s meeting between
Timbaland
and
Babyface
, albeit with an explicit chorus and a boast -- "I got bodies I'm-a take to the grave/I got girls I wanna give my last name" -- that would have been instantly rejected by urban-format radio programmers decades ago. "Hate the Club," a cleverly tiptoeing, discreetly funky slow jam from
Jahaan Sweet
Yussef Dayes
, catches
on the reluctant prowl. They also link up with
Jhene Aiko
and previous collaborators
Pop & Oak
for the gently booming "Change Your Life," a rare moment of pure sweetness amid the surrounding expressions of anguish, lust, regret, and resignation. ~ Andy Kellman