Unsurprisingly, Blood Orange’s new track “Charcoal Baby” (from the album Negro Swan) is a sublime, atmospheric song that progresses with gentle beauty. The enthralling track—written by Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) and Porches’ Aaron Maine—sounds similar to the unconventional R&B of 2016’s Freetown Sound, with some jazzy horns and guitars. The Crack Stevens-directed video is a split-screen creation that reflects the song’s spoken-word introduction about …
With a rippling, emotive surface underscored by an uncertain eeriness, “Country” is the latest release from Porches, aka Aaron Maine. The brief, potent track steps forward with considered escalation, adding backing vocals by Dev Hynes and Bryndon Cook along the way. Maine and Nicholas Harwood co-directed the music video, which introduces a surprise twist with only seconds left to spare.
With a track like “Augustine” (and the accompanying video), it’s hard to think of things Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) can’t do. Off his just dropped album Freetown Sound (which features songs made in collaboration with Debbie Harry, Ta-Nehisi C, Carly Rae Jepsen and more), the song maintains Hynes’ signature soulful vocals and drum-and-piano instrumentation, but introduces what feels like a far more complex song …
