Blue water road

"Recording tracks for a prospective deluxe edition of 2020's It Was Good Until It Wasn't, Kehlani determined that the material had the makings of a separate release, scrapped the original plan, and kept rolling until they had an all-new album. The resulting Blue Water Road is undeniably lighter and less fraught than the singer's previous LP - and not without grief and tension - and also has a continuity justifying the decision to stay on a forward course ... [Executive producer, who also co-produced every track], Pop Wansel's sensitive, nostalgic touch is in effect, neatly incorporating hip-hop and R&B classics from the late '80s and '90s without overdoing it".

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"Blue Water Road is Kehlani's most mature album, as well as their most musically and thematically challenging. Its content is unabashedly queer - especially potent since this is their first release since publicly identifying as a lesbian - in a country bent on supressing non-conforming identities. It expands their sound palette into orchestral pop and easy listening that clash with the synthetic R&B and rap sounds fans have grown accustomed to. It chronicles a loose, nonlinear story that ends with love and comfort, just as the world is slowly coming back around to physical contact. But most importantly, it shows that for all the skin Kehlani has shed over the years, they haven't even begun to scratch the surface".

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"[Kehlani]'s lush third album is all about the heart's desire...: For an artist who once competed in America's Got Talent, [Kehlani] have managed to create an identity that feels authentic and, well, cool ... The Oakland-born singer delivers an onslaught of glistening vocals in 13 tracks that are mostly yearning".

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