Ari Lennox: Vacancy

"In recent years, Lennox says, she's also gotten sober and started dating with greater intention. Her third album, Vacancy, documents this sense of resolve. "There's a space, a void I would love for someone to fill," she said in a recent interview. "But the reality is people be in and out like a gosh darn hotel." It's the potency of that still-unrequited desire and her indefatigable drive to fulfill it that's at the emotional crux of the record."

"On Vacancy, Lennox sings with the self-knowledge of a grown woman: Instead of reassuring herself that she calls the shots, she now tells partners exactly how long they have to text her back before she moves on ("24 Seconds"). It's inspiring to witness her growth-but if the winking irreverence and willful contradictions that defined her earlier work were symptoms of a more naive outlook, they also supplied the songs with distinct perspective and candor."

Ari Lennox progressed from living in a first solo apartment and singing from a mid-twenties perspective to becoming a lauded contemporary R&B artist known for vulnerability, humor, and sensuality. In recent years she became sober and began dating with greater intention, channeling resolve into her third album, Vacancy. The album centers on an unrequited desire and a drive to fulfill it, balancing aspiration and manifestation. Vocally she commands tracks with poise, delivering self-knowledge of a grown woman who sets boundaries, as in "24 Seconds." Some songs retain playful irony, while others feel carefully composed, occasionally bordering on redundancy.

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