On Athena, her debut album as Sudan Archives, Brittney Parks inhabited a sonic terrain that was expansive, majestic, and intriguing. The follow-up, Natural Brown Prom Queen, has the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (perhaps best known for her command of the violin) breathing life into a whole new world. She channels the poise of her earlier work, but into something that is bigger, more sumptuous, more candid, and more intricately experimental, yet simultaneously more pop-leaning. As she told the FADER this year: “Now I’m not afraid of the word [pop] because I just think it means you’re poppin’. And I am poppin’.” Parks taps an eclectic group of producers on NBPQ, including hip-hop legends like Hi-Tek (who shares her hometown of Cincinnati) and Nosaj Thing, British indietronica producer Orlando Higginbottom (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs), and UK rap mainstay JD. Reid. She fearlessly runs the gamut of genres and eras, gliding into her own future.
Ultimately, NBPQ is striking because Parks embraces abundance; no stone is left unturned. Her violin plucks through the air, syncopated and soaring; polished drums recall sleek R&B or else thumping, thotty trap; punches of brass and heady bass rattle around you. All the while, her voice bends and beams — sometimes in breathy, silky song, elsewhere in choppy bars. An album that deals with beauty, love, and sex, NBPQ is ecstatic but also deeply intimate and, well, horny (lyrical highlights include “Suck out the honey, I want you to fuck me” and “I just want the d-i-c-k”). Sudan Archives binds you tightly in her velvet rope — yes, the album deserves a Janet comparison — and lifts you up with her. — TJ
