Chapters
Verve
Release date: May 20, 2016
By Shawal Ras
Follow @shawalras
Malaysian-born songstress, Yunalis Zara'ai or better known as Yuna, is back with her third international LP, Chapters.
The album, released late last night, signifies Yuna's giant departure from her poppy and laid-back sonic in Nocturnal to a much expressive and emotional lyrics over trippy soundscape (“I was just something that you can use,” she sings and laments, resentfully). It's a positive growth from her, if I'm being totally honest.
Judging based on my first listen, I'm not really in love with the whole album. It sounds redundant after the fourth track and you're not sure which track is which. But, after a while, you sorta slowly fall in love with it. It flows cohesively from track to track. It's the same case with the first single off the album, 'Crush', where it took me about a week to actually like it.
Chapters is an interesting outlook into how LA has shaped her music today. She's no longer that timid Malay girl in her turban and conservative clothing. Lyrically, she's a little aggressive and like I said before, she's much more expressive when it comes to her emotion. And vocally, she sounds a lot confidence (need more proof? Listen to 'Lanes').
Final verdict? This ought to be Yuna's strongest album to date although it fails slightly in terms of its commercial appeal. Still, it's a great effort by Yuna and I'd love to see her delve into mainstream soul/R&B music for her next record.
Standout cuts: 'Lanes', 'Crush', Unrequited Love', 'Best of Me'.