The two previous full-lengths from
H.E.R. were well received, to say the least. Although they were welcomed with acclaim, high chart placements, a platinum certification (for the first one), and a slew of Grammy accolades (for both),
H.E.R. has remained insistent that neither was her debut album, as each one compiled EPs and added bonus material. Presented as her true first LP,
Back of My Mind plays out like an assemblage itself. It contains an EP worth of previously released material dating back almost two years, and there's enough content -- an amount exceeding that of each compilation -- to fill a compact disc to capacity. This begins with a triumphant exhalation in the form of "We Made It" and then slips into a labyrinthine corridor of slow jams and ballads with the odd subtle switch-up. There are several guests along the way.
Ty Dolla $ign's street gospel support on the title song is the finest match. On a more discreet level, "Bloody Waters" -- a heady
Kaytranada production tricked out with a delectable
Thundercat bassline -- is a brilliant sequel of sorts to her Academy Award-winning "Fight for You," another career high point with shades of sociopolitical
Marvin Gaye circa 1971 and 1972. A few other songs stick out amid the confessionals, late-night yearnings, and conflicted discourse that drift along over soft beds of gently strummed guitar and trap-styled boom-and-skitter. The platinum "Damage" transforms
Herb Alpert's "Making Love in the Rain" (produced by
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis with background vocals from
Janet Jackson) from an expression of rapturous release to one of seductive threat. "Cheat Code" is like a follow-up chapter to wistful sample source "The Sweetest Thing" (fronted and co-written by
Lauryn Hill); the lilt in
H.E.R.'s voice on the hook hits like an unexpected jolt of grief. "Closer to Me" flips an aspirational early 2000s deep cut (by the undervalued
Goapele) into a love song yearning for intimate repairment. Like "Bloody Waters," these standouts nod to an inspiration while being unmistakably
H.E.R. ~ Andy Kellman