Those in search of adventurous pop music should already have come across Dawn Richard. After dalliances with the mainstream via the Danity Kane R&B group and some of P Diddy’s projects, Richard cut and ran for the hills, releasing a string of albums which zigged and zagged from experimental pillar to post.
Like the Blackheart and Goldenheart albums, the New Orleans singer's final album in this trilogy is an ambitious, compelling and intriguing affair, not afraid to mix styles and substances. Working alongside collaborator Machinedrum, Richard is happy to flirt with electro, R&B, EDM, psych-rock and pop, but she rarely sticks to the playbook, which makes tracks such as LA, Vines and especially the magnificent Renegades hugely idiosyncratic and alluring.
The sonic lean and strut of the tracks, Richard’s powerful voice and the mesmerising content and context of her lyrics makes for an album which begs to be heard far and wide.
