Charlotte Day Wilson
didn't need to be sampled by
Drake
and
Travis Scott
, covered by
Patti Smith
, or nominated for Juno and Polaris awards to make her artistic ascent known. A singer/songwriter and producer who doesn't pay mere lip service to her inspirations -- not for nothing have
Babyface
,
Meshell Ndegeocello
D'Mile
, and
Syd
answered her calls -- she further develops her soul-baring progressive R&B with this follow-up to her first album.
Wilson
as ever projects curiously numbed passion in these languid songs of love, desire, and anguish. This time, she's wound less tight, as if she's gazing into her lyric journal, swaying with it as if it were a dance partner instead of clasping it while fixated on a flawless take. The heart of
Cyan Blue
is "Forever," a duet with
Snoh Aalegra
and among three songs co-written by new collaborator
Leon Thomas
. It's the drifting sound of lovers throwing themselves into one other's arms while agonized by the finite nature of time. Or maybe the heart is truly the grainy "Walk with Me," where
imagines a positive chance encounter with an ex, only to realize a less favorable likely outcome ("It's too complicated, we step but don't move"). Moments of untroubled joy are rare. There's "Dovetail," a smoldering expression of physical magnetism, but that's about it. "Canopy," one of several songs with prickly-yet-soothing rhythm guitar presumably from co-producer
Jack Rochon
, has a playful touch, like a minimalist take on
Blaque
or
Destiny's Child
, though it's a confrontation with an energy vampire. Virtually all else is full of conflicting emotions. Two additional standouts are particularly stirring and center a voice light in touch and heavy with emotion. In "New Day," little more than piano, voice, and spectral treatments,
naturally expresses her devotion to her partner and a yearning to raise a child while reckoning with insecurities about factors beyond their control. "I Don't Love You," a smudged shuffle, comes across as pure sorrow until
's words and faint lilt indicate that she's experiencing a quiet catharsis. It's all fine-drawn and in the moment. ~ Andy Kellman