The Pop Corporation

Every so often, in the world of R&B, someone seemingly strips away all the zeitgeisty production and streaming clout grabs, and decides to make a fuckin’ soul album.

Sometimes, that translates to a brassy ’60s throwback, and sometimes it’s the echoes of’ 70s Stevie – with Ari Lennox and her new ‘Vacancy’ album, it’s the sound of classic ’90s and’ 00s ‘grown and sexy’ R&B.

Think a little bit of Soulquarian production, Jazmine Sullivan, Mary J, Usher slow-jams, with a pinch of modernity that’ll have you reminded of Kehlani’s better stuff and even a smidge of Olivia Dean.

This is Lennox’s third album, and for our money, her best to date.

Album opener ‘Mobbin in DC’ sets the tone, weaving modern soul with jazzy, swooning coolness, which should have old-heads and young music fans nodding in agreement.

And this is good news, as Ari has had a number of issues with a host of people in the industry, which makes the vibrancy and fun of this record so fulfilling.

You see this with the title track, which bumps up the BPM a little, and gives an almost playful vibe, and the horns punch you pleasantly in the chest and she sings “oooh, baby, I want you to fill this vacancy.”

And throughout the whole LP, she’s never sang better than she has here. Jermaine Dupri is on the desk, backing Lennox with a compelling, delicate mix that makes for a suite of songs that will provide rewards on repeated listens.

It’s not without it’s witty moments either. On ‘Horoscope’, you’ll find a big, silly smile spreading across your face when she sings “that boy put the hoe in horoscope.”

This is her first LP away from a decade on J. Cole’s label Dreamville, and it looks like she needed the change of scenary, because now in her self proclaimed Soft Girl Era, she’s made an album that sounds true to herself, but also, one that points to a brighter future too.

If you’ve found yourself yearning for the R&B of years past, that still sounds fresh – if you’ve shared the ‘if it doesn’t feel like 90s R&B I don’t want it” meme, if you’re a fan of that good shit and wonder who will stop messing around and make an album full of mid-tempo cone-ons, this is the album for you.