Blood Orange : Essex Honey
Grief haunts everyone differently. Its abstract nature is difficult to address; there are ways to find rest and individual practices of self care, but grief isn’t something you can just “cure” and be done with. In the process of wading through anger, sadness, and feelings of hopelessness, you might find yourself questioning the possibility of ever feeling joy again. On Essex Honey, Devonté Hynes, aka Blood Orange, lays bare his own struggles with grief and offers profound insight into how we can traverse such pain with grace.
Hynes created Essex Honey during a time of reflection on the loss of his mother, growing up in Essex in southeastern England, and how music has impacted his life. Rather than run away from his grief, Hynes acknowledges and processes it, and creates a beautifully heartfelt experience in doing so.
Essex Honey follows a long tradition of Hynes exploring personal and societal topics through a lens of shape-shifting R&B. On his previous studio release, 2018’s Negro Swan, he explores the subject of Black depression, and the “ongoing anxieties of queer/people of colour.” But for such emotionally charged subject matter, Hynes’ music and lyrics are never grim. Melancholic at times, sure, but there’s a balance in his presentation, and that’s the case for Essex Honey too.
Songs like “Somewhere In Between” flow in such a way that the song can be processed as an energetic and danceable or laid back, contemplative track. Though there are songs more somber in tone, the shift in approach never undercuts the emotional intensity of Hynes’ lyrics. Blood Orange’s music contains a compelling dualistic power; Hynes is more than capable of writing fun and catchy dance tracks, but he also knows how to use the power of rhythm and melody to convey powerful messages. Dance can be a meditative action, however, and by creating fluid rhythms and melodies, brimming with vibrant sound, Hynes immerses the listener into his emotional state.
With each song here, Hynes and his guest songwriters construct a compelling variety of mood and instrumentation. Gentle touches of flute and piano play over a hip-hop inspired looping drum beat on “Vivid Light.” After opening with a recording of the last Christmas he spent with his mother, the soft piano playing on “The Last of England” morphs into a trip-hop beat accompanied by a violin performance. The drum and guitar performance on “The Train (King’s Cross)” creates a gentle rock rhythm, which fluctuates with touches of atmospheric dreaminess and (slightly) heavier intensity.
Hynes and his guest vocalists strike a lyrical balance in their allusions, never too vague and providing an impression the listener can latch onto. In the chorus of “Mind Loaded,” Hynes and Caroline Polachek sing, “Still broken (Broken), can’t think straight (Straight) / Mind loaded (Loaded), heart still aches (Still aches) / ‘Musil’ in my brain (Brain) / Tight muscles (Muscles), late summer (Summer) / You’re happy (Happy), in wonder (Wonder) / Help me on my way (Way)”; later on in that same song, Hynes, Lorde, and Mustafa the Poet sing, “Everything means nothing to me / And it all falls before you reach me, ooh / You wonder, I’ll be on my way.”
Instrumentally, “Mind Loaded” incorporates a somber melody alongside an energetic rush of drum programming, the two modes elevating the emotional delivery of the lyrics. A potential read of the song is an expression of the melancholic monotony of depression—the sun might shine, you can have a refreshing smoke and some good music playing, yet darkness still clings. Yet that darkness can also fall away because of the support of loved ones. That’s another beautiful aspect of Essex Honey—for as much as Hynes commits to exploring his grief, there’s much light to be found on the record.
We can put in the work to address grief, but be it over months or years, we never entirely rid ourselves of it. However, as Hynes explores on Blood Orange’s Essex Honey, it’s possible to minimize the pain and embrace what good we have. Hynes shows that gratitude is a powerful tool, whether that’s being grateful for the music you get to experience, or the loved ones you’ve shared your life with. It makes moving forward just a little easier.
Label: RCA
Year: 2025
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Blood Orange : Essex Honey
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