Georgia Anne Muldrow Overload

Picture Georgia Anne Muldrow as a cosmic traveler tinkering with the limits of humanity’s musical norms. You’re dealing with an artist who has deeply studied both the Book of Sun Ra and Baduizm. Her interpretation has spawned one of the most daring catalogs to hit this planet—a vast, urbane suite that draws from historic spirituals, the R&B avant-garde, Afrofuturism, Madlib beats, and the soul of Roberta Flack. The epic scope of Muldrow’s body of work forms the funkiest of odysseys.

"Overload" is the singer’s 17th album since 2006. With an affinity for warping classic sounds into new forms, Muldrow looked well-placed at the turn of the decade as a group of emerging artists (Miguel, the Weeknd, Frank Ocean) created daring new music that attacked soul’s old boundaries. But the California virtuoso was too different—too out there—to insert herself even into this pack of renegade stars. There are few R&B norms that Muldrow hasn’t looked to contort. Her penance for the approach has been near-zero mainstream reward.

On "Overload", Muldrow is in her most pop-focused space ever. The songs are tighter and the melodies are chirpier. It’s a release that refuses to pander to any identifiable trends, using sophisticated cosmic synths, rumbling basslines, and cutting lyrics. Look at this as Muldrow’s second debut—the record that future crate-diggers who have mined this undervalued-in-her-own-time star will recommend to friends first, before they work their way through her weird and wonderful catalog. It also might be her best album yet.