Considering that her first two singles were spellbinding slices of ambient pop perfection, you can forgive Alexis Roberts for not quite hitting the same stratospheric heights with her third single, “Truths.” I say that without a single grain of condemnation or condescension for this track because all-in-all it’s a mighty fine effort that quivers with the ethereal cool and emotional potency we’ve grown to love from the Atlanta songstress.
Aesthetically, “Truths” is a song that falls in line with the defining characteristics of her music thus far; that is, elegantly minimalistic pop and R&B production that’s built to accentuate the smoky timbre of her voice. Roberts’ gift is such that it’s easy to overlook one element for the other; fans who zero in on her breathy vocals might fail to recognize the graceful manner in which her spectral beats ebb and flow. It’s a forgivable offense, such is the power of her singing, but it also means losing out on the totality of the experience. In the case of “Play House” and “Waste My Time,” the delicate interweaving between the vocals and the underlying instrumentation was integral to the success of the song, making it difficult to separate the two elements. Here, however, there is enough distance to untangle one from the the other resulting in an overall structure that is not as well bonded and unified. Still, Roberts’ instincts and poetic sensibility remain sharp, and even if “Truths” doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessors, it’s still plenty sublime.
Listen below.
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