"The underlying thread is the idea of Hope." Dev Hynes’ fourth album as Blood Orange came two whole years after the technicolor pop collage of Freetown Sound. Negro Swan is very much a Blood Orange album for our current dystopia, a sharing of the multitude of traumas of the black experience. Gentle funk instrumentation belies the lyrical brutality of album opener “Orlando”, while his sunny guitar licks make a long-awaited return on album highlight “Charcoal Baby”. The album is a continuously shifting experience, with thought-provoking and surprising interludes and fragments occurring before, during, and after each track. Recorded on-the-go in studios across the world, this record features guest appearances including Puff Daddy, Tei Shi, A$AP Rocky and Project Pat. 

• black double vinyl pressing
• printed inner sleeves
• digital download included
• music label: Domino 2018

reviewed by asleep with the lights on 04/2019