Review: Steve Lacy, 'Gemini Rights'

Gemini season, which stretches from May 21 to July 21, is sticky. The dewiness of rising, yet manageable, temperatures results in a warmth that envelops everything and everyone around it. It’s cozy and seductive, an oasis of reprieve before the summer truly kicks off. On Gemini Rights, his sophomore studio album, Steve Lacy steeps his music in that sunny warmth and crafts an album brimming with brazen funk and sensuality. Lacy trades the DIY haze of his previous projects for a more robust offering that emphasizes polish and sheen without sacrificing the tender nuances that ground his sound.

“Static” kicks things off with one of the most arresting vocal performances of the year. Lacy’s languid Frank Ocean-esque delivery of the song’s sole drug-stained sex-streaked verse is simply intoxicating. From the way his background vocals drop out for the pivotal “uh, lookin' for a bitch 'cause I'm over boys” line to his twinkling vibrato on “something turned me off,” Lacy is already showing off a new level of understanding of his voice. It’s that voice — an erotic explosion of honeyed falsetto and a tone that’s equal parts haunting and alluring — that anchors Gemini Rights. Sure, the production is glossier than Apollo XXI and there aren’t filler lyrics like “something something something,” but Lacy’s voice is the glue.

Gemini Rights teeters on the edge of release throughout its runtime. The rollicking rock slant of "Buttons,” for example, teases a release that doesn’t truly arrive because the tension and confusion of heartbreak run rampant on the album. The thumping funk of “Helmet” cradles devastating lines like “I'm kinda sad / What should I do? / Guess I'll move on / Love won't harass me forever.” Those moments of anxiety find balance in the lush concupiscence of the Prince-inspired “Give You the World.” Breathy falsetto and lovestruck string arrangements decorate the gorgeous track while Lacy coos “this time I'm gonna love you like you would do.”

At just 10 tracks, Gemini Rights zips through grief, paranoia, lust, guilt, and regret, while simultaneously surveying the landscapes of soul and rock with the purest tenderness. The most rewarding part of the album, however, is Lacy’s ability to make the most emotionally wrought and chaotic moments feel as if he is in complete control. It’s a trick that appears across the album (take the tortured choir of backing vocals on “Amber,” for example), and it’s a testament to his immense talents as a producer and vocalist. If the success of “Bad Habit” is any clue, Gemini Rights will lift Steve Lacy’s career to new heights, and rightfully so.

Key Tracks: “Static” | “Give You The World” | “Amber” | “Buttons”

Score: 85