Ravyn Lenae - Hypnos Review

I don’t know if a lot of people’s radars are tuned to Chicago (shout out from the North Side) native Ravyn Lenae, but they will be. Her stunning and bombastic track ‘Sticky’ has been hovering around the music sphere for a few years and she’s opened for musicians like SZA and even popped up along the festival circuit. She’s been busy making a name for herself but still hovering just below the surface. With her Debut Hypnos I think she firmly plants her flag in the ground as one of the preeminent voices of modern Neo-Soul/R&B.

The first few tracks on the album mix soothing guitar, light percussion with spacey synths that give a nice edge with Ravyn’s breezy vocals. Though her main vibe on the album is light and lovey, she isn’t afraid to push herself a to trip-out a little. ‘Cameo’ and ‘Venom’ are perfect examples of this, especially ‘Venom’ with a choral harmony that wouldn’t be out of place on a ‘Plastic Beach’ era Gorillaz track. Directly following these is the gentle ode to self-love ‘Inside-Out’ which puts its arm around your shoulder and softly speaks to you the power of learning to accept yourself for who you are. It’s a lovely affirmation that escapes the sloganeering and anthemic pitfalls many similar tracks fall into.

Ooh, I'm starting from the inside
Stick your chin up, see if you are satisfied
Take a look in the mirror and decide
Put a grin up even when you wanna cry
Take a look in the mirror
Don't deny yourself from nothing, it's not worth it
I love me from the inside out
Stick your chin up when you're in doubt
Yell your name from the inside out

The first single from this album is the infectious ‘Skin Tight’ featuring Steve Lacy on the chorus and a nice acoustic guitar over an easy beat under floaty love-dipped lyrics. Ravyn has a special type of poetry when it comes to writing love songs like this one and ‘Light Me Up’ later on in the album. They aren't just love songs. They have an added twist or perspective to them that makes them stand out. It's one of the aspects of Ravyn Lenae that I feel like I took for granted the first few listens but became more apparent with each rotation.

Hope you understand we won't go as fast
Hold me while you can, hold me while you can
I'll still be your friend, you'll come back again
Hold me while you can, hold me while you can

I'm now skin tight
Are you 'round? Come by
Cutie pie, all mine
Attitude, my type
Who could've thought? It's not black or white (black or white)
Now every time that I took you back
If I called, would you spend the night?
Can't blame this love if I'm not that nice (damn)

Throughout the album you won't hear her vocals rise far above a breathy vibratto except in a few tracks like the bouncy ragga-like groove of ‘M.I.A’ and the epic closer ‘Wish,’ where Ravyn shows that, while she is confident in the softer vocal registers, she can rise to a near belt when needed. However, Ravyn keeps things dynamic and lively with some added psychedelia to the guitars in tracks like ‘Satellite,’ ‘Deep in the World’ and the aforementioned ‘Light Me Up’. The backing vocals and harmonies on the the album often lift to ascendant levels regularly and on ‘Satellite’ and the spacey ‘Xtasy’ at times takes us up and up until we rest among the stars. It's moments like these that really hypnotize when you give yourself to them.

No matter where you are
Wish on a shooting star
Ooh, I wanna see you

Every night I close my eyes, make a little wish
Do you know my mind?
Every night I close your eyes, make a little wish
Don't let me go

There are some standout features in the album as well such as the previously mentioned Steve Lacy on ‘Skin Tight.’ Smino has a fun and playful verse on the twinkling and wobbly ‘3d’, and on ‘Mercury’ we get a shared chorus and verse with Fousheé who matches the energy of the track and the album perfectly. The features do what a good feature should, and adds a little spice to the recipe without changing up the main ingredients.

In summary, there's a lot to love in Hypnos. Though with the first few listens I did suffer a little fatigue with the near hour long length I couldn't think of any tracks that I would leave out. As I opened up to the softness of the vocals, harmonies, and at times spacey production that fatigue faded away and I was left with a warmth and excitement I didn't expect going in and I’m pressed to find a more solid 2022 debut in my rotation. If Ravyn Lenae is anywhere near your radar currently, do yourself a favor and calibrate your sensors to aim directly at her. You won’t regret it.