Ravyn Lenae is only 25, but her blend of delicate indie-rock and muscular R&B is masterfully self-assured. The Chicago-born, LA-based artist’s 2022 debut, Hypnos, gestured at greatness, but its follow-up, Bird’s Eye, is the real deal: a breathtaking pop suite that’s fleet-footed but rock-solid in its convictions, easily swaying between styles while always foregrounding Lenae’s gossamer voice. She mainly writes about complicated relationships – the bread and butter of R&B – but there are quiet revelations to be found across the album: “I don’t know where to start/ Can’t say where I begin,” she sings on Pilot, “Just know I’m 24/ Small to the world I’m in.”
On Pilot and Days, Lenae borrows a couple of ideas from Lana Del Rey, who has often used nautical metaphors to convey the buffeting power of love (the two songwriters share a skew-whiff songwriting acuity). On Dream Girl and Love Is Blind, she uses unusual images (“Running low on lemonade/ Crying over paper plates”) and dramatic turns of phrase (“We been driving all day/ And it’s taking over me”) that somehow make perfect sense in the context of the record. Bruised but triumphant, Bird’s Eye is a testament to that boldness – a striking second chapter in Lenae’s career.
