King avriel has been making people take notice for a while now, but up until this point, it was only because her singles and collaborations picked up a considerable amount of buzz from both music lovers and bloggers alike. Now, though, she's about to enter into an entirely different league of musicianship, because not only is this release a full-length album (something which new names constantly shy away from), but the album itself is undeniably spectacular. It's not hard to see the sheer scope of talent that went in to making this, and the tracklist is a veritable cornucopia of R&B-infused audio gold (and no, we don't think that's hyperbolic). For King avriel, it seems she's not particularly preoccupied with simply making good music; rather, she's transcended the traditional roles of a pop artist, and moved beyond the rudimentary goals of songwriting towards a much different pursuit altogether—a pursuit we would judge more along the lines of storytelling itself. Her music is just a conduit by which she makes said narrations accessible to the listener, and, whether they're received or not, they're laden with artistic allure that can be appreciated in a multitude of ways. We understand that the aforementioned assertions may seem like nothing more than conjecture as you listen to the album for the first time, but listen again, and notice that while she does use familiar (albeit, expertly crafted) music as a canvas to paint her words across, the words themselves are not merely afterthoughts in the creative process. To be sure, King avriel has rejected many of the commonly used techniques that her contemporaries employ, like purposefully vague subject matter, and instead has gone for the jugular with finely tuned English that often flirts with the type of poetry reserved for much higher-thought occasions. Chalk that up to the fact that, aside from being an artist, she's apparently quite the academic as well (the album title paying homage to that side of her life, no doubt). Whatever the reasons, though, there's no arguing with the finished product here, and with such a solid list of songs, picking out which ones to feature was quite the challenge.Eventually, we had to narrow it down for brevity's sake, so below we've a few expounded upon that demand your attention. "Forgiveness For Underdogs" is the first of our favorites (and second song on the tracklist), and despite the fact that it's noticeably shorter than the rest of the group, King avriel was able to channel her inner Imogen Heap on it, and no doubt will drop jaws like it's her job with a solemn account of past trials and tribulations set against a beautifully crafted soundscape. "Follow Me" is the second track we fell in love with, and it's particularly notable because of the slightly off-kilter string sections that make the first bit of the song feel like the soundtrack to some warped, Victorian-era garden party before it finally builds back up with a laid-back beat and deftly delivered story. We already featured "180" a while back, but give this one a listen again, because it's the kind of track leaves a the vast majority of her contemporaries in the dust. Last up is "Freedom". The track recaptures some of the epic melancholy that we were given a taste of in "Forgiveness For Underdogs", but it's a lot more developed due to its longer runtime, and there's a beat present that gives the whole effort a much harsher—but still enjoyable—aesthetic. King avriel is about to wow some big names with this album of hers, no doubt, (not to mention the crop of fans she'll surely inspire to form), but the real magic is in the content itself, and there's no mistaking the quality indeed embedded in thesis. It's the kind of career-launching effort that we only see every once in a while, and when one does arrive—as thesis has here—we're absolutely excited. Stream all of thesis via SoundCloud. (It's only available for stream right now, but expect it to hit iTunes soon.) [Premiered via Dazed]
King avriel