The publication of "When I Come Home" was a huge surprise. Solange's talent is not. – Mother Jones

This week: When I come back home by Solange (Columbia Records, 2019)

Why are we in it? Look, it's Solange. We had.

We're sure you've already seen it on all music sites, as well as Instagram stories from friends and trends on Twitter – that's not as much a "find " than you must–listen to this. But it's not an album to mix. Not even close. It is a trip entirely expressed, from the beginning to the end. Each track belongs to its specific place and must be respected as such. There is no single person because there can not be one. None of these songs should be extracted and separated from the album.

So let's start at the beginning: "What I imagined".

It's an inspiring, sweet and sensual introduction, marked by Solange's signature ability to transport you to her world – one of her great talents that has not wavered over time. If you do what we recommended at first and listen in order (and you must), "Things I Imagined" slides into an interlude, which then serves as a gateway to one of the few complete tracks. "Down With the Clique", made with the help of Tyler, the creator, is a new generation of funk inspired by the last song thoughtful and refined. She deploys rehearsals with a nuance and confidence never anodyne. The successive overlay of a phrase, sometimes at the peak of a new harmony, or overlapping as the song progresses, is an essential and important trait of "Down With the Clique" – without talk about the rest of the tracks in this album.

"Nothing without intention (Interlude)" emerges from ethereal and resonant "Dreams", like the break in a show house where you address your surroundings, suddenly aware of your modified state of mind. The overlapping voices give way to a very brief chorus of "Do nothing without intention" at Make clear all that Solange does, from the musical note to the lyrical, with exquisite intention.

What should not be lost in a conversation about this work is its timeliness. With pieces like "Almeda" and "My Skin, My Logo," Solange continues Knowles' legacy of making music that's addressable to the present. and recognizes the past – by putting all this together in a healing and introspective look at the world in which we live. "Not even in this Florida water." The percussive and disconnected "Sound of Rain" is at the end of the album. It starts with a fantastic rhythm, R & B with glitch electronic whispers. Produced by Pharrell with additional ABRA voices, this song is remarkable.

"I'm Witness" pulls the album's music themes into a smooth and immersive sound bath of an output. Some moments are clear and bright, and others are deep and prolonged. Solange sings "take the light" in broken rounds for a clear and soft finish.

One of the most dominant characteristics of Solange is the way that her juxtaposition of rhythms, mixes, voices and samples makes listeners feel both peaceful and uncomfortable. The mixture is not always smooth and that's the goal. If Beyoncé is the sun – strong, emotional and brilliant – Solange is a silent looping moon: intelligent, sensitive, glittering and sullen. When I come back home is just another proof of his amazing abilities as an artist – synthesizing his state of being as an essential ingredient in the way we live all around us.