Blood Orange is back! Three years after the release of his last album Angel's Pulse, Dev Hynes has returned with four new songs in his aptly named EP, Four Songs. The EP has a classic Blood Orange sound accompanied by gorgeous production that gives you a moments to dance and moments to just let the music carry you away.
The intro track, Jesus Freak Lighter, opens up with a distorted bass noise jumping right into a dance beat. Dev comes in with his guitar playing a beautiful low tone, giving the track a feel of nostalgic romance worth dancing to. A sharp guitar solo enriches the moments between Dev's heavenly verses. The short and simple lines fill up the song with such warmth. He truly has one of the best voices in music today. The song carries out to the finish with more guitar and vocal layers creating a reverb-soaked bliss of musical excellence. Something That You Know is a great example of his production prowess. Though the instrumental is simple, its beautifully mixed guitars, bass line, and drum beat all meld in a way to create such a full and effective sound. It has a summery and almost psychedelic vibe at times. The third track, Wish, is a shimmering masterpiece. The dampened drum beat it opens with features soft cymbals that glisten over the instrumental along with rising and lowering ambient synth tones. Additional piano and guitar moments come in later under melancholy lyrics of dreaming with a sense of helplessness. The song has so many notable moments with luscious production and vocal melodies. Relax and Run talks about trying to find peace and also choosing to run away. It features a lovely and catchy piano line. It contrasts nicely from the quick sixteenth note drumming on the hi-hats. Dev uses a more spoken vocal style on the track when he's not singing that is familiar to his other work. Erika de Casier and Eva Tolkin feature, adding vocals throughout with an outstanding harmonious ending to the song. With the writing and tone having a sense of melancholia, it really is beauty drenched in sadness.
Blood Orange always keeps the listener wanting more. The EP has a short run time considering the length and all the songs clock in at around three minutes. Each track engages you right until it ends, making you only wish it lasted longer. There are so many pleasing moments here that create such an appealing listening experience worth a replay. Blood Orange has been busy since his last release with production credits and touring, so I hope this is a sign of more music under his name coming out soon! Check out the EP below!
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