“Paste Pick: The adventurism and intellect that have made Kelela’s music so exciting and unpredictable up to this point remain, but here they’re complemented by a new sense of lightness and self-assurance.”
“Weaving psych rock and shoegaze textures into her mellifluous R&B ethos, Kelela’s new album turns to guitars at a moment fraught with social and emotional tension.”
“A culmination of the sounds Kelela's worked with up to this point.”
“Last winter, Kelela released a live performance of Joni Mitchell's "Furry Sings the Blues," a semi-deep cut from her 1976 jazz-folk opus Hejira. Kelela's rendition of the song is utterly transfixing: accompanied by a little more than a fretless bass, her voice is muscular, but expertly restrained; each note animated with a subtle fervour as she basks in the eccentric, meandering splendour of Mitc”
“Kelela has long occupied a lane of her own. Across her landmark mixtape ‘Cut 4 Me’ and acclaimed albums ‘Take Me Apart’ and ‘Raven’, the artist became one of alternative R&B‘s defining architects – marrying liquid electronics, sleek club music and startling emotional intimacy into a sound of her own. Her newest album ‘New Avatar’ pushes that singular universe somewhere earthlier. Shoegaze guitars ”
“Kelela crafts a sultry summer classic with new avatar”
