Affirmation of perspective is clear and powerful on Raven, the third album from Dizzy Spells member Kelela. Questioning the desire at the core of connection to others, lush mixings bring about positively inevitable topics but work them over with an impressive studio ensemble. Washed Away sets the mood nicely, an important opener that announces the beginning and settles the mind for what follows. Reactionary dance music not just contemplates the scene itself but gauges the very human, intense feeling that comes from the music that filters into clubs and introspective, calm stylings. Raven’s shift in tone is remarkably natural and feels like the big night out, peeling back into contemplation and reflection. Kelela showcases a clear and confident ability for making those tracks pop and smooths out composition qualities and electronic blends.
Much of that comes from using the voice not as an isolated effect but as an instrument. Consistent reverbs and delays mark pop interjections that become part of those effective mixes. They are solid and personalised but have their dips and falls. It comes down to preference more than anything given the consistencies that come from singles Happy Ending and On The Run. Defiant taunts come through the venomous-yet-calming process of Closure, which spills into a nice addition from RahRah Gabor. Those powerful cuts and jabs at the club scene and the enticing sexuality at the heart of it have few lyrical variances though. Raven begins to depend more and more on the concepts its mixing and club scene atmosphere can create.
Thankfully much of that atmosphere is exciting and well-mixed. Contact picks up the pace toward the end all too briefly, and even briefer is its nice move into Fooley. That unflinching electronic beat is an avenue Kelela does not go down, instead, the brooding electronics and the disco fundamentals are kept clear of any harsher sound. Basing itself more on the tempo than on the depth is a risk. Holier and the stretch that follows, compared to the start of the album, feels closer to a half-baked cooldown after a stretch of dancing. The last thing a dance album needs is a cooldown. Kelela begins charting what should be the emotive core of her album but it never mounts its attempts at expressing individuality with anything unique in those slower moments. Kelela has a dependable voice but the real shine of this hour-long alternative rhythm and blues music is the mystified production, the potential for elevation and the catchy beats. Those stop and start for much of Raven.
Kelela continues a solid run of form throughout Raven that feels more akin to solid dance numbers with lavish production values, soon falling into a healing, calming second half than anything absolute or next level. Tracks like Missed Call mark the quality disco feeling and link it up with the simplicity of an effective message. Maintaining that consistency of pop-like numbers for an hour is no small feat and while Kelela does not mark every track a monumental success, no track feels out of place. There is a steady flow and an overarching quality to the slower beats and moments that come from this charged work, a strong piece that cements Kelela as an obvious talent who uses her tonal understanding well.
