Review Summary: Fool me three times, shame on me.
Fool me three times, shame on me… that’s how I feel listening to Rhye’s discography ever since their 2013 debut
Woman.
That record introduced us to Mike Milosh, who’s androgynous voice is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful of our time. That much is still true - on new album
Home, Milosh is still singing horny sweet nothings over lush piano and saxophone grooves, but the unique spark that made Rhye such an exciting act 8 years ago is long gone. Some have speculated that that spark was producer Robin Hannibal, who left the band in 2017, but I can’t be sure, as Rhye’s instrumentals haven’t actually changed much from his beats on
Woman. The issue is that they now feel derivative to the point of being insulting. The worst part is that they already felt that way on 2018’s
Blood and 2019’s
Spirit, so I don’t know why I thought
Home would be any different. I was lured in by Milosh’s gorgeous falsetto and my own projections of the band’s one-time potential, and I can’t help but feel hurt that I’ve been made the fool once again.
It’s not easy deciding that you’re no longer going to check out future releases for a band you once loved, but at a certain point you have to draw the line. I’m making the choice to keep the best iteration of the band’s never-changing sound (2013’s
Woman) and let that be my memory of them. It’s a great debut and it always will be.
Favourite track: "Come In Closer” is actually pretty nice, but it still doesn’t compare to the mastery of their debut
