Chilombo

"Sexual, spiritual and wildly over-long ... Aiko is no stranger to an ambitious concept project: her 2017 album Trip turned her grief at the death of her brother into a psychedelic odyssey. Chilombo has a similarly large scope, following her journey out of the ruined relationship. She sings practically a cappella about her gratitude for small pleasures on BS, her emotional immediacy (reminiscent of Ariana Grande on Thank U, Next) preventing it from getting saccharine ... Unfortunately, neither Aiko's narrative nor the fairly one-note production can sustain that focus across this wildly over-long record. It lacks the variety of Trip ...".

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"Where her last album explored grief, the R&B singer's latest is more grounded, exploring the ups and downs of a failed relationship".

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