Dev Hynes is a man of many talents when it comes to the realm of music. Over the past few years, Hynes had produced some of Hollywood's best soundtracks. From Gia Coppola's 2013 Palo Alto film to Paul Schrader's Master Gardener masterpiece, the ability to convey emotion runs within his bones. To a man with seven soundtracks under his belt, one would think that's enough to please the creative hunger. Not for Hynes.
This summer, Hynes returns to his home and roots with Essex Honey. The project marks the first album for Hynes since returning as his alias Blood Orange. The years in between haven't been kind to Blood Orange fans, with a sprinkle of singles here and there. Hynes dropped an EP back in 2022, but nothing major has happened since then.
On Essex Honey, the London-born visionary speaks heavily of his homeland while bringing along a few collaborators. The result is a warm return of one of R&B's most forward-thinking artists.
The death of his mother in 2023 led Hynes to craft such a rooted project with a fusion of light R&B with hints of soul and that England soundscape. The weighted pressure of fame, grief, and loss began to take shape in many of the tracks on Essex Honey. The trump wailing on "Somewhere in Between" echoes tough emotions. Among gentle beats and hushed tones, Essex Honey is remarkable in its more electronic sounds.
Hynes has always towed the lines between R&B, soft rock, and electronic. Those fusions of sounds really jell well with the list of features Hynes brings with him. "Mind Loaded" features an array of vocalists in Lorde, Caroline Polachek, and Mustafa. The harmony leads to some of the most introspective tracks on Essex Honey.
Essex Honey is Hynes shaking off what little rust that may have accumulated over the past 6 years. Hynes paints imagery of plains like in the lead single, "The Field," while bringing fans into his outlook and the future of Blood Orange. Hynes has continued to push his talents and redefine human emotion on such a grand scale.
