Detroit-born and California-based, Odelet is building a whole damn universe. Her latest album, Raindance, is a dreamy plunge into what she fittingly calls “Surrealist R&B.” This thing doesn’t sit still in any one genre. It floats, glides, and sometimes slithers through hazy vocals, lush keys, and dub-influenced rhythms. And just when you think she’s done, she drops a full remix companion album, Raindance In Dub, steeped in the warm, echo-laden grooves of 1970s-style dub. Two sides of the same storm.
The album kicks off with “Know It All,” a slow burn with splashing cymbals and thumping drums that hooks you early. Odelet’s voice is thick, slurred, and soaked in feeling, like she’s singing from some misty memory she’s only half willing to revisit. And then comes “Raindance,” the emotional core of the album. Here, her voice dips into something deeper, more melancholic. It’s like you’ve stumbled into her inner monsoon, and she’s just letting it pour.
But she doesn’t stay in the sadness. By the time “Up, Up and Away” rolls in at the eighth track, things have lightened. A gentle piano sets the tone while she lets loose her “Aaaa”s like she’s lying in the grass with nothing on her mind but the sky. She sings with a carefree tone, “You know I am really living, I think that this is giving,” urging us to free ourselves from this capitalist grind trap we call life.
Odelet’s been on a roll lately, and “Raindance” is just one piece of her ambitious 6-album release arc this year. Backed by her indie label/production house “Everlasting Tape” and mixed by Tape Op’s Larry Crane, the album feels lovingly crafted, never rushed. With music, visuals, and even a film-scoring art docuseries in the mix, Odelet’s flooding the scene with something truly her own — and we’re lucky to be in the downpour.
STAY IN TOUCH:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Review by: Naomi Joan