"Vacancy, Lennox's third album, is far and away her most fun, and if it isn't quite as ingratiating as her 2022 Age/Sex/Location, it makes up for it with canny lyrics and an airy, open sound. Cool Down is a reggae/R&B hybrid that practically feels as if it is made of aerogel, and which pairs its summery lightness with witty lyrics telling a guy to chill out."
"On Mobbin in DC, she pairs lounge-singer coolness with withering come-ons (You know where I be / This ain't calculus / No ChatGPT), while the strutting Horoscope, with its hook of That boy put the ho' in horoscope', is as surefire a future viral hit as I've ever heard. Much has been made of Lennox's struggles in the industry she has faced harassment from radio DJs and fought publicly"
Ari Lennox favors lush jazz, soul and 90s hip-hop textures over genre-fluid trends, and Vacancy blends tradition with playful wildness. The album opens with moments like Under the Moon, where a lover is likened to a werewolf and Lennox howls evocatively. Vacancy is her third album and leans more airy and open than previous work, trading ingratiating immediacy for canny lyrics and buoyant production. Tracks like Cool Down fuse reggae and R&B with summery lightness, while Mobbin in DC and Horoscope pair lounge-cool delivery with witty, withering lines. Lennox has faced industry harassment and label disputes, yet performs with unmistakable ease and forward momentum.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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