Whilst the rest of the world is losing their minds over Brent Faiyaz’s long awaited return to the music game, there was an R&B artist who’s opened for Joji who dropped what is probably going to be the most underrated albums of the year. If you haven’t heard of rei brown then allow me to acquaint you with the artist. His music is R&B at its core but he experiments with the genre, fusing it together with metal, early 2000’s pop, garage, house, classic rock, 90’s techno and a plethora of other genres so you never know what he’s going to come out with. That’s why his debut album xeno is a breath of fresh air. You never know what you’re going to get and every time you hear a single track you’re completely floored by his expressive form of self exploration. Venturing into multiple new worlds in the process that gives you flashbacks to sci-fi landscapes like Star Wars.

The main stay throughout this album is his lusciously toned voice, elegantly gliding like a swan across the ocean of his soundscape to form a mesmerising image equivalent to that of an Oscar winning final shot. Hyperstition, If You Let Me Go, Haunt Me and When I Fall Asleep are emotional showcases, bringing out the tender side of his sonic realm that allows the evocative natures of his lyrics to take of you to portray the intimate tale on display. You’ve also got energetic tracks like Could I Be Somebody and White Honda, giving a bit of diversity to the introspective album that would be perfect on any pre-drinks playlist you’ve got. The two stand out tracks however have to be Solar and Centauri, both featuring outstanding productions that pull you head first into the ideology he’s professing and are utterly spellbinding pieces of work. This album is something else entirely.