Bird's Eye is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Ravyn Lenae. It was released on August 9, 2024, through Atlantic Records. The first single showcased two tracks: "Love is Blind" and "Love Me Not". Leading up to the album, "Dream Girl" with Ty Dolla Sign and "One Wish" featuring Childish Gambino were released.
| Bird's Eye | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 9, 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:39 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer |
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| Ravyn Lenae chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bird's Eye | ||||
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Background
editLenae created the record alongside executive producer DJ Dahi. In a statement, she described the album as a return "to a place of self-trust and unbending intuition" while taking "paths and turns" on the way there into consideration.[2] Announcement of the album was accompanied by the release of the songs "Love Is Blind" and "Love Me Not" on May 3, 2024.[3] Both songs observe "conflicting feelings of relational desire and dependency", "Love Is Blind" in a more "soul" and "airy R&B"[4] approach and "Love Me Not" as "bolder crossover pop".[5] The second single "Dream Girl" featuring Ty Dolla Sign was released on June 26 and contains as what Lenae refers to as "Prince drums" as well as the singer's signature "potent world-building".[6] The third single "One Wish" features Childish Gambino, and was released in July.
Lenae is set to kick off a North American and European tour supporting the album on October 5.[7]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.4/10[8] |
| Metacritic | 83/100[9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[10] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[11] |
| NME |   [12] |
| The Observer | [13] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[1] |
Bird's Eye received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 5 reviews.[9] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? rated Bird's Eye a 7.4 out of 10.[8]
Writing for The Observer, Shaad D'Souza stated that "Bird’s Eye, is the real deal: a breathtaking pop suite that’s fleet-footed but rock-solid in its convictions, easily swaying between styles while always foregrounding Lenae’s gossamer voice."[13]
Clover Hope for Pitchfork commented on Lenae’s debut album Hypnos, noting "While HYPNOS showcased the fluidity of R&B, Bird’s Eye is more varied: Lenae experiments like she’s an alchemist in an R&D lab, trialing new combinations of downtempo guitar, gentle reggae-pop, and even a stuttering, Brainfeeder-esque beat."[1]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Genius" |
|
| 2:35 |
| 2. | "Bad Idea" |
|
| 2:14 |
| 3. | "One Wish" (featuring Childish Gambino) |
| 3:15 | |
| 4. | "Dream Girl" (with Ty Dolla Sign) |
|
| 3:39 |
| 5. | "Candy" |
|
| 3:06 |
| 6. | "Love Is Blind" |
|
| 3:51 |
| 7. | "Love Me Not" |
|
| 3:33 |
| 8. | "From Scratch" |
|
| 3:25 |
| 9. | "1 of 1" |
|
| 2:45 |
| 10. | "Pilot" |
| 3:13 | |
| 11. | "Days" |
| 4:03 | |
| Total length: | 35:39 | |||
Note
- ^[a] signifies an additional producer
Personnel
editMusicians
- Ravyn Lenae – vocals
- Childish Gambino – vocals (track 3)
- Sara Kawai – harp (track 4)
- Ty Dolla Sign – vocals (track 4)
- Dominic Angelella – guitar (track 7)
Technical
- Dale Becker – mastering
- Dahi – mixing (tracks 1–3, 9)
- Tyler Page – mixing (tracks 1–3, 9)
- Jon Castelli – mixing (tracks 4–8, 10, 11)
- Bryan Schwaller – engineering
- Riley Mackin – engineering (track 3)
- Julian Nixon – additional arrangement (track 7)
- Brandon Hernandez – mastering assistance
- Noah McCorkle – mastering assistance
References
edit- ^ a b c Hope, Clover (August 9, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae: Bird's Eye Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (May 3, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae Announces Sophomore Album, Shares New Songs: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Lapierre, Megan (May 3, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae Announces Sophomore Album Bird's Eye, Shares Two Singles". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Sacher, Andrew (May 3, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae announces new album Bird's Eye, shares two new songs". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (May 3, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae Announces New Album Bird's Eye". Clash. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Murray, Robin (June 26, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae Links With Ty Dolla $ign On New Song "Dream Girl"". Clash. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ Bernstein, Elaina (June 26, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae Is Everyone's "Dream Girl" on New Single". Hypebeast. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
- ^ a b "Bird's Eye by Ravyn Lenae reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Bird's Eye by Ravyn Lenae Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Nwabuikwu, Ozioma (August 7, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae: Bird's Eye". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Sam Franzini (August 8, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae: Bird's Eye Review – Ravyn Lenae continues to hypnotise on Bird's Eye | R&B". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
- ^ Wehner, Cyclone (August 9, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae – 'Bird's Eye' review: a slept-on auteur takes flight". NME. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (August 9, 2024). "Ravyn Lenae: Bird's Eye review – a breathtaking R&B follow-up". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved August 10, 2024.