The comeback of Blood Orange
Art by Sara Polster
Devonté Hynes, better known as Blood Orange, released his newest album, “Essex Honey,” on Aug. 29. This record is his first major release under the Blood Orange name since 2019, and with it, Hynes takes listeners on a journey through the cycles of grief and resilience in the face of change.
I use the word "journey" quite intentionally because it's the best way to describe the unique, experimental structure woven throughout the album. Songs on “Essex Honey” shift like tides ebbing and flowing as tracks build, transform and recede. For instance, one of the many songs that reflect this sonic journey throughout the album is the secondary track, “Thinking Clean.” It begins with simple piano chords and vocals, then layers in a cello about a minute in, expanding midway through with drums, which are suddenly taken away as the song is stripped back down to a cello solo for an outro. This experimentation is combined with a lofty atmosphere to provide a new sound for Hynes, a natural progression from previous albums.
Hynes’ debut under the Blood Orange name, “Coastal Grooves,” leaned heavier into an R&B electronica fusion while “Negro Swan,” his most acclaimed album, dialed back for a Lo-fi R&B effect. Essex Honey combines aspects of these many genres, in addition to new themes and topics, to strike a wonderful balance. It achieves a groundbreaking sound that doesn’t stray too far from its musical roots. Thematically, Essex Honey dives into the perspectives of people affected by loss. This theme reflects the emotions experienced by Hynes after losing his mother to cancer in early 2024 and returning home to be with her in her final days. In his grief, he goes back through early memories and revisits places dear to him. Songs like “The Last of England” show his feelings towards this loss with the final lines stating, “Time has made it seem we can talk / But then they took you away.” Lyrics like this, in addition to recurring lines throughout the album, state, “I don’t want to be here anymore,” indicating the despair of Hynes at this time. Throughout the album, his emotional highs and lows are displayed through similar lyricism helping listeners understand his grief process. This process is shown to not be one of a linear path, but more as a journey he travels through with many changes and setbacks that intertwine with his progress in dealing with grief.
Public opinion of “Essex Honey” is fairly positive from most sources. Will Dukes from Rolling Stone praised the album, giving it 4/5 stars. “Few albums are this emotionally refined, giving us a real sense of grief.” Dukes continues on to discuss how the themes of loss were handled in such a way that it made the small moments in life feel more important. Pitchfork, with a similar rating of 8.1/10, discussed a “liminal feel” heard through the music on the album and appreciated Hynes' unique portrayal of his past and upbringing. On the other hand, viral music critic Anthony Fantano ranked it more in the middle, giving it a 6/10. “I wouldn't really say there was anything on this album that I would skip or came across as offensive or sloppy or overly mediocre,” Fantano said. “There was only so much of it that grabbed my attention and kept me locked in, immersed, and even entranced.”
Though, beyond these reviews, the album connected with me as a listener on a level that is hard to describe aside from what has been said so far. I wholeheartedly recommend “Essex Honey” to all music lovers who want to experience this nostalgic journey filled with wondrous experimentation and emotional depth.