When I Get Home is an expansive, intuitive, and heady statement from singer, songwriter, producer, and actress Solange Knowles. Her records have always appealed to a more sophisticated pop listener, 2008’s Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was a love letter to Motown girl groups, and 2012’s True was refreshed 80’s pop plus Williamsburg PBR&B. A Seat At The Table was neatly textured, intensely personal, and her first #1 album - if you haven’t heard it, you’ve made a huge mistake. When I Get Home continues her journey into herself, constructed with intuitive grooves and lyrics repeated like mantras. It makes sense that this LP was inspired by Alice Coltrane, Steve Reich, and Sun Ra. Grounded in crisp jazz, When I Get Home also integrates elements of hip hop, electronic pop, and drum & bass, reflecting the eclecticism of the places it was recorded - New Orleans, Houston, Topanga Canyon and Jamaica. The production is varied as well, featuring co-production turns from the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, Dev Hynes, Metro Boomin, Pharrell, Tyler The Creator, and Panda Bear. “Stay Flo” is gently chiming piano with restrained drums keeping synthesizer bleeps at bay, “Almeda” is drowzy trap beats with hazy synth washes and features a vocal appearance by Playboy Carti. Guests are kept to the minimum, with Sampha appearing on “Time (Is) and The-Dream on “Binz”, leaving ample room for Knowles’ cosmic abstraction. This LP is pressed on clear vinyl.

• clear colored vinyl
• printed insert
• music label: Columbia / Saint Records 2019

reviewed by EQUAL DREAMS 06/2019