Tunde Adebimpe - Thee Black Boltz 

For the past two decades, Tunde Adebimpe’s voice has been synonymous with the shapeshifting sound of TV on the Radio, a band with a track record for being a complex instrument of gritty emotion, poetic unease and seemingly limitless experimentation. Now, Tunde’s solo debut ‘Thee Black Boltz’ calls forth a new reckoning. The record is introduced by its title track, a dialled-in spoken word piece which serves as a core transmission with messages of settling love and hate, consolidating happiness and sadness. The tech tempo of single ‘Magnetic’ follows with a crackling pulse. Immediately, Tunde’s visceral vocals are placed at the forefront, asserting jarring reflections of a conflicted condition. Some of the record’s strength lies within electronically oscillating currents which vary in degrees of intensity, as heard in the vast, atmospheric synth grooves of ‘Magnetic’, ‘Ate The Moon’, ‘Blue’ and ‘Somebody New’. However, the true power is in the tracks which showcase greater nuance and break up the density of the sonic heft. ‘Drop’ is defined by a beatbox rhythm, ‘The Most’ briefly incorporates dub-inspired flicks while ‘ILY’ is the hopeful heart of the record, stripped back to acoustic fingerpicking and more ambient instrumentation. In these moments, Tunde’s artistic flourish is accentuated the most. ‘Thee Black Boltz’ is a dispatch from the eye of a storm rattling with grief and political anxiety, yet the clouds part for sparks of hope. It is as much a rebirth as it is a document of survival, embracing the terrifying and exhilarating task of navigating uncharted musical territory in such an insular manner. As Adebimpe surrenders to the unknown, he still remains guided by the same restless and creatively unburdened spirit that has defined TV on the Radio. However, it is evident that ‘Thee Black Boltz’ is Tunde Adebimpe’s storm to weather, his vision unfiltered with a clarity that makes the collection strikingly his own.