After Airtight's Revenge was issued in 2010, Bilal picked up a Grammy
nomination for that album's "Little One" and continued to be one of the
most valuable guest vocalists. He enhanced the Roots' Grammy-nominated
Undun and Robert Glasper Experiment's Grammy-winning Black Radio, the
latter of which includes brilliant work on a version of David Bowie's
"Letter to Hermione." For his third official release, Bilal entered the
studio with the intent to record an EP, but exited with an album — one
that possibly tops his previous release and has a very different
character.
Where Airtight's Revenge was all frayed nerves, sonically
chunky, and dense, A Love Surreal is kicked back — lighter, slower, and
steamier, more about flirting and lusting than personal and societal
turmoil. Backed by much of the Airtight crew, Bilal produces all but
four of the 14 cuts. That includes a deceptively wild 25-minute stretch
flows from the knotted but playful "Back to Love," to the sneakily hooky
"Winning Hand," to the spaced-out "Right at the Core," a deadly duet
with King's Paris Strother in which resistance is futile ("You got me at
the core"; "You tried to hate me, but your heart is still in it"). The
album's latter half is just as remarkable. "Astray" is raw, bluesy soul,
its longing tangible from the first lines: "Feelin' chills in the
summertime, hot and cold/Something happens to the weather when you're
gone." On "Butterfly," he reconnects with Glasper for a sparse ballad —
incorporating delicate, otherworldly Moog accents from Masayuki Hirano —
that should produce all-weather chills. It deserves to circulate as
much Herbie Hancock's similarly lissome composition of the same title.
As a producer and songwriter, Bilal has stepped up. As a vocalist, he
remains supernaturally skilled and creative — swooping, diving, wailing,
and sighing, all with complete command.
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