By Odeisel

It’s been a long time.  He shouldn’t have left us. But even when he was here, Bilal never quite felt like everyone else. His refined yet explosive falsetto was unconstrained mania and his subject matter was just not the “do me baby” or the “why did you leave me” malaise that plagues R&B to this day. It’s been nine years since his debut, 1^st Born Second and now Bilal returns from the wilderness with the most ambitious and far-reaching soul album in recent memory with Air Tight’s Revenge.

Bilal has dialed back on the falsetto, adding a smokey, somber delivery that smacks of grizzled life experience and maturity. There are layers of instruments, showcasing his expansive musical intelligence and a clear understanding of the moods that these instruments convey. Bridges are employed throughout the album and consequently the emotion of the music is deftly handled and coupled with Bilal’s own masterful vocals to present a rich tapestry of feeling. This is illustrated perfectly on “Restart” where the introduction of an electric guitar and a pounding drum at different points in the track bring out Bilal’s exasperation with trying to repair a broken relationship and return it to when it was all good.

“All Matter” addresses the common threads that run throughout our existence while exploring how that commonality is muddled by our differences, while love attempts to connect us. A velvet smooth bass line floats atop an aggressive drum. A sparse, repetitive piano morphs into a winding key sequence over a simple drum as Bilal tells a tale of a broken hearted hustler’s daughter who falls under the influence of drugs on “Flying.” The narrative is positively chilling, as is Bilal’s vocal transition to a Dracula-like delivery.

“Levels” employs a jazzy piano with a low-whine synth, cymbals, strings and background noise for an exercise in escapism. Short bursts of an electric guitar rumble throughout at intervals for dramatic resonance. The powerful “Little One” is a guitar and piano powered romp that attempts to marry Prince’s vocal arrangements with Stevie’s musical majesty as Bilal promises his son to help him find his way. He employs his famous falsetto on the chorus with astounding effect.

Bilal laments lost love, not with desperation, but with resolve on “Move On.” Multiple moving instruments help tell the tale of the good times and how those memories sting. Bilal doesn’t cry, however, he steels himself to move on. A muscular electric guitar and a full, booming drum help tell the tale of how we work to exist and chase the high life without experiencing real life on “Robots.” Bilal notes the irony of the middle class who looks down on the less fortunate while espousing the values of the aristocracy who get fat from their existence. “The Dollar” pushes that commentary further with scratched in gun shots, airy backgrounds and digital keys. The attitude that money enables and falsely empowers is on full display with moral bankruptcy not too far behind.

“Who Are You?” finds Bilal pondering existence and how external factors control how we think about ourselves and overpower both our own sense of self and where we should search for the answers to our identity. The song is lyrically ambitious and amorphous in arrangement, with the rhythm sections bleeding together and engulfing the vocals with little regard to stanza. The rhythm changes with every expression similar to Freddy Mercury’s work with Queen. The album closes with “Think About It.” Bilal is looking for a second chance at his love. He learned from his mistakes and is imploring her to consider taking another shot at it.

In a landscape where nothing of substance seems to matter, Bilal still doesn’t fit, but that’s to our benefit. Air Tight’s Revenge is his attempt at having a second chance at his love, music. After having his second album shelved by Interscope and being shepherded to the periphery, this album serves as Bilal’s tour de force; sitting outside his lover’s window imploring her to take him back. Fuck what the neighbors say. Keep begging brother. If she’s smart, she’ll take you right back.

Out of 5

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