Album Review: Quantum Baby by Tinashe

Apt to mix the erotic and the romantic, a woman for whom an empty bed is an existential hostility, Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe is the Christine McVie of modern R&B. The late Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter, poet of the twilight hour, understood how the space between anticipation and fulfillment can fuck with the brain as much as it breaks a heart. Tinashe, however, is never caught on a hot mic; the performed insouciance she’s given us since the 2014 ScHoolboy Q collab “2 On” shows no signs of turning into a routine..

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To put it in terms quantum physicist Erwin Schrödinger might understand, Tinashe has both finally arrived and has always been here. Over the last few albums, the singer-songwriter has transformed herself into an autodidact of production, mixing, and general perseverance outside of the major label system. Tinashe hasn’t courted a mainstream audience in years, instead cultivating a broad artistic vision and an IYKYK ethos that made her an outlier in an industry obsessed with conformity.

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It's found itself in TikToks or Instagram Reels, getting wistfully mashed up with Beach House's "Space Song" to ask if someone wants to get on the same level - one's 'freak' could mean anything from going to bed at 8 p. m. , a specific autistic hyper fixation, or doing something slightly off-kilter to appear quirky.

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Let’s be honest here: how could anybody match Tinashe’s freak? Ten years after turning heads with her excellent debut Aquarius, and the smash “2 On,” Tinashe is hitting new peaks this year. “Nasty” was one of the most indelible hits of summer 2024—a pop summer that was not exactly skimpy on indelible hits. With her deep-chill voice and the Ricky Reed/Zack Sekoff production, Tinashe got everyone walking around for months with the hook “I’ve been a nasty girl” stuck in our heads. She’s no rookie in the freak game, but Quantum Baby proves she’s still exploring new sides of her artistry, showing off her adventurous style of alternative R&B..

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ain't no quantum leap Tinashe has long been a chameleon in the R&B landscape, consistently evolving while maintaining her signature blend of sultry vocals and cutting-edge production. It all started in mainstream glamor with a couple of well-received R&B albums in the mid-2010s: the aquatic synths and trap beats made for a soundscape that was as rhythmic as it was atmospheric, which was the perfect background for Tinashe's sensual vocals. As expected in that kind of story: the world usually can't be that kind for too long, so there had to be a moment when it all went to shit.

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In a mainstream circuit that is increasingly rewarding experimentalism, Tinashe is an artist who finally feels primed for success. This year, pop stars praised for playfully leaning into their individuality have dominated the charts. After years of Charli xcx being positioned as an artists' artist rather than a savvy pop powerhouse, the release of BRAT quickly coated everything in slime green. Six albums in, Sabrina Carpenter broke through pop music's middle class with "Espresso," a post-disco single brilliant for its irresistible and instantly ubiquitous hook of "that's that me espresso." .

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