Album Review: Aluna Is Having Her “Renaissance”
It happens in every young woman’s life, especially when she tips over the mid-twenties; we seek a Renaissance. Realizing that dreams either A) don’t come true or B) aren’t what they promised to be, once they do, we seek to become the “dream.” We nosedive into self-care and self-love; realizing that the last thing Life does for anyone is “treat’ them. No, to get “treated,” you have to treat yourself, HONEY! #havingarenaissance When things go down, you redefine what it means to see yourself up and on top, which is what Aluna does in her new album, Renaissance, out August 28!
Aluna – Envious (Official Music Video)
There is ja oyousness to this record that makes you want to call up your mom and say, “Mom! I’m doing well for myself! I’m an adult!” You may laugh, but “adulting” is a serious condition; it is the feeling that you have gone from parental or societal’s definition of stability to your own. Yet, from “I’ve Been Starting To Love All The Things I Hate” to “Surrender,” Aluna is witnessing that stability is more an internal feeling. You are not an adult simply because you can pay rent; you are an adult because you can spiritually handle the task and emotionally see your way to it, even it it is long and hard to rising your economy. For some, rent-pay may not be a measurement to your adult functionality, but in this pandemic world, it sure can be for many. Hence, the happiness of Renaissance feels genuinely cheery like, a glorious IDGAF, and matches Aluna’s new vibe of doing what she wants in a world desperate to tell her what she needs to do.
Aluna – Body Pump (Official Lyric Video)
I remember seeing Aluna in a concert, a long time ago, where she discusses facing an industry/ world that sees artists like vision boards for their vision. Eager to break free of that, she was working on music that was “her,” and if Renaissance is what came form that search then I am happy she looked. She embodies that moment when you have so many things go wrong that you laugh! You even look up at the sky and as if to challenge Nature and tell her you are a force, as well. There is something oddly radiant and euphoric to giving into the fact that life goes wrong, which is why no one can tell you what is right for you. From “Don’t Hit My Line” to “Back Up,” Aluna is figuring that out through a soundscape that springs synths, mazes melodies, and riffs rhythms so that every track feels like a delicious bag of surprise candy. The entire album feels like a mashing of genres until the whole record is a banger. (see what I did there!) Check out Aluna’s Renaissance on August 28.
