You come home to the place that raised you at some point in your life, whether it be a city, a home or both. A variety of weird emotions hit you. You drive slow down streets you used to speed on, noticing the shops, trees and signs you always saw on your way home. At a stoplight, you reflect on old memories and imagine how different your life could have been if you stayed. You appreciate where your journey has taken you but are glad to be back in this place. You cherish it and live in the moment before these times become memories too.
Pell’s latest release, a sequel to his 2014 mixtape, captures this feeling as he returns to live in New Orleans for the first time since Floating While Dreaming I. In many ways, the new record is not just a homecoming but a return to form, embracing the “dream rap” style that set him apart. Pell’s refined the style with his years on the road, but he’s brought back state-of-the-art production, a glossy sheen over the project that pushes his impressive lyrics and flow to new heights.
The record begins with a beautiful ballad on “Waves” performed by Tonina Saputo, followed by a voicemail giving Pell advice to make his music more digestible. It must have been good advice because Pell’s lyrics seem more intentional than ever before, focusing less on clever wordplay and more on capturing a specific vibe in each track. “Flight,” immediately after, free falls into a gooey dripping bassline and smooth flow. The track feels like taking a slow cruise in a convertible, going wherever the road takes you. Catchy hooks and choruses fill the record specifically on tracks like “Tew Much,” a bounce-influenced track about slowing down a relationship, or the fun, bubblegum pop melody on “You’re Not Who You Were.”
Hurricane Ida hit just days before the release of the record. “Ring Ring Ring” feels ominously appropriate to the current state of the country as we reel from the effects of natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. Pell sings, “Hurricane after Hurricane/ It’s raining in New Orleans/ Fire in my wood/ Watch me burn down every forest,” describing the disasters before getting into verses about change and being able to uproot and go where the floodwaters take you. Pell finds the most in life wherever he goes, whether within relationships or disaster—a resilience and reverence only cultivated in New Orleans.
