Solange’s New Record Is Heavenly Soundscape

When I Get Home, Solange’s follow-up to her 2016 critically acclaimed A Seat at the Table, is an ode to her hometown of Houston, Texas. Its neo-soul style has a refined aural beauty — thanks to the minimalist recording approach — that allows the singer’s delicate harmonies to shine. On the nostalgic, celestial track “Dreams,” Solange recalls her youth, singing, “I grew up a little girl with dreams, dreams, dreams.” Interludes and instrumental breaks smooth transitions between narratives about self-empowerment and identity politics. The Pharrell-produced “Almeda” showcases the surprising compatibility between rapper Playboi Carti’s adlibs and Solange’s ethereal vocals. Although When I Get Home transports the listener to a heavenly soundscape, it doesn’t have the same magnitude of metaphorical lyricism or personal revelations that its ambitious predecessor offered.