Kelela – New Avatar

Billed as a transformation of sorts for the Washington, D.C.-born artist, New Avatar sees Kelela return to the indie rock influences that informed her early years. Where such descriptions somewhat miss the mark is in how she’s already been doing it, modernising R&B into more progressive territory while keeping the emotional essence of her music intact.

As expected of Kelela, she synthesises complex feelings into airy, dimly lit club anthems. Her response to feeling “too spent to weep” on the atmospheric, drum ’n’ bass-informed “Point Black” is to shrug off a toxic relationship with a freeing of the mind and body. Whereas on “Against Me,” she captures the lingering unease of that same relationship over layered flanged guitars and interweaving harmonies.

Contrary to the shoegaze influences throughout New Avatar, which come across as a little overstated in her exploration of new sounds, the lyrical themes more convincingly point to her natural process of renewal. At times, those threads complement one another, as on “Crystallize,” which more closely recalls former touring mates The xx. But it’s no surprise that the music truly shines when she furthers the leftfield R&B that first put her on the map. Her collaboration with Fousheé, “New Life Forms,” stands out especially, as it finds her floating in dreamlike soundscapes that pair lovingly with her escapist state of mind.

She does ultimately find closure on “If We Meet Again,” which caps off a whirl of a journey over a minimal synth lead: “You’re playing in my face/I’m giving up.” That arc alone should’ve been reason enough to celebrate the four-year wait since 2023’s Raven, as the music that accompanies it feels more like another evolution in her career rather than a full-circle moment.

New Avatar is out now via Warp.