Kelela - New Avatar
Kelela’s third studio album is mesmerizing in its hypnotic quality: it is a delicate, beautiful, and meticulously crafted record.
The Ethiopian-American singer has always excelled at blurring genre boundaries. Her debut album, Take Me Apart, elegantly fused alternative R&B with sophisticated art-pop. On 2023’s Raven, she pushed even further, incorporating elements of electronic music and ambient textures into the mix. new avatar, her third studio effort, dives deep into shoegaze and ethereal sketches of nocturnal dream-pop.
From its opening moments, new avatar envelops the listener in a wave of roaring guitars on the shoegaze-infused “idea 1” — a dark, gripping track that confronts the anxieties of the modern world without offering any easy answers. A sharp stylistic turn arrives immediately afterward on “point blank”, where, over a UK garage instrumental, Kelela explores emotional detachment and the bleakness of a deteriorating relationship. She likens love to shattered glass that she is left to piece back together after a painful breakup.
As the record unfolds, its atmosphere grows increasingly darker. On “outta time”, featuring A. K. Paul, Kelela’s voice seems to echo off the buildings, traffic lights, and trees of a sleeping city. Paul’s languid vocals add another layer of charm, making it one of the album’s three outstanding collaborations, each of which works flawlessly. Nearby lies one of new avatar’s finest moments: the shimmering “crystalize”, which recalls the dream-pop anthems of The Jesus and Mary Chain. Here, Kelela once again attempts to make sense of a relationship on the verge of collapse: “Pin me down, twist the knife / Hey, what are you runnin' for?” she asks helplessly in the chorus as her voice disappears beneath a dense haze of sound.
The album’s experiments continue to impress. One of the strongest songs of Kelela’s career, “linknb”, runs for less than two minutes, yet within that brief runtime she ventures into psychedelic art-rock, its riff lingering in the listener’s mind long after the song ends. The following track, “don’t piss me off”, perfects her shadowy brand of house minimalism, with Kelela directly pleading with her lover not to test her patience or push her away. Romantic struggles constantly intersect with broader social tensions; the two become inseparable, yet the singer approaches these heavy themes with remarkable restraint.
The final trio of songs is every bit as captivating as the album’s earlier highlights. “new life forms” brings back the alternative R&B influences that first earned Kelela widespread acclaim, while Fousheé’s airy, almost dissolving verse serves as the perfect finishing touch to an already gorgeous composition. The album’s most triumphant collaboration arrives with “the bridge”, recorded alongside PinkPantheress. Her signature drum-and-bass style, immersed in the dark aesthetic of new avatar, becomes one of the record’s most euphoric moments. “Even when you say you regret it, you make it so obvious / Let me solve this issue for us”, PinkPantheress purrs playfully, turning “the bridge” into one of the project’s most affectionate and tender tracks.
The closing “if we meet again”, reminiscent of the minimalist passages on Oklou’s choke enough, abruptly interrupts that sense of euphoria. Kelela no longer wishes to remain in this relationship because her partner simply is not as invested in it as she is. “You're playin' in my face, that's why I'm givin' up, I'm givin' up”, she sings, ending the album almost mid-thought.
Before the release of new avatar, Kelela said that the album finds comfort in confrontation. In a way, it truly does provide an escape from the chaos unfolding around the world today. Yet its greatest strength lies elsewhere: it makes darkness feel strangely alluring. Whether it inspires tears or a desire to dance hardly matters — new avatar leaves room for both. There is beauty in minimalism, and Kelela’s third album invites repeated returns, revealing new layers with every listen.
8.1/10
