The Chi-town duo returns with their most mature record yet.
The Chicago group, led by musicians Nick Hennessey and Maceo Vidal Haymes, has spent the better part of a decade and a half crafting a sound that is ultimately theirs and theirs only. For years now, The O’My’s have been blending beautiful harmonies with raspy, colorful production with elements of jazz, soul, big band, and ballroom. Their music has never strayed from experimentation and profession and this has ultimately led to being a staple collaborator with Chicago’s finest creatives across the board, from Chance The Rapper to Jamilla Woods.
Trust The Stars is the group's first full body of work since 2018’s Tomorrow and 2021’s EP No Swimming and is a full exploration of love and the experience of growing out of it. Accompanied by jazzy undertones and more focus on the songwriting, Trust The Stars swims in this gritty somberness without completely giving into total melancholy. A balance of sorrow-drenched instrumentals, but a real sense of optimism hiding beyond the lyrics, in the performances themselves.
The duo explains that this “is an album that expresses the insecurities and fears that come with growth. Both personally and in love. Reflecting on the past while wholeheartedly living in the present.”
The production is incredibly jazz-forward, with some beautiful elements of Latin inspiration peppered throughout the first quarter, providing a consistent direction for the entire project, but in doing so, it doesn’t leave much space for experimentation or anything musically ambitious that was more present on their previous record. Where the production fails to experiment with something bold, the focus is more on the song compositions themselves and the lyrics. This is where we get some of the most tender moments on the project.
One prime example of this, and really one that reflects this sentiment of marinating on love and the woes that come with it, is “LA tango.” “LA tango” stands as one of the most colorful tracks for its immersion of rhythm and song sentiment. The concept of love and reflecting relationships is present from start to finish on the project, but “LA tango” stops and allows the lyrics to be sad, the sentiment to be sad, while maintaining this groove. Haymes’ poetic standings depict such a broken figure, one constantly let down by the shortcomings of love, but the swing in the drums just refuses to stay still. The energy travels through my headphones to my body, nodding my head, refusing to stay still despite the words of sorrow, creating this experience of persisting despite the sadness.
The tender moments within the group’s performances is only highlighted more with the features throughout the project. Featured names include some long time Chicago colleagues like Jamilla Woods and some new names that bring a great chemistry, like Pink Siifu and Mother Nature.
Siifu, being the only rapper featured, but easily takes the best feature here with his introspective verse, producing some gems of quotable lines like “My babies laughter the best instrumental.”
Despite the lack of dynamic moments, the project brings the consistent breath of fresh instrumentation and genuine song writing; tackling hardened topics from a beaten, yet passionately focused perspective.
Stream Trust The Stars on all DSP's now.
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