S. Raekwon - Where I'm at Now [Orange Custard Color Vinyl Record LP New]

S. Raekwon, born Steven Raekwon Reynolds on July 10, 1995, is a singer/songwriter and producer from New York City by way of Buffalo, NY. His life so far has granted him the warm allure of someone well-acquainted with matters of the heart. He always finds the feeling even when the words evade him, every note handled with care. The S. Raekwon project finds Reynolds documenting traces of a life both affected and infatuated by the power of difference. Some differences define us, some memories bear too painful to share, but S. Raekwon symbolizes a surrender to the power of one's intimacy, reframing his circumstances to earn his truth in terms both whimsical and hardened.

Where I'm at Now, released via Father/Daughter, is the product of two years of S. Raekwon tuning himself to the echoes surrounding his essence, past and present. In a first draft, Reynolds fashioned himself from the cloth of diaristic singer/songwriters before him, pouring himself across abstract soundscapes in an attempt to address the racial insecurities clouding his life's experience. The album we have now finds Reynolds freeing himself of the expectation to package his struggle; he doesn't waver from the search for meaning, but he's also concerned with matters more sweet. This is a collection of moments from the purview of a late bloomer, pushing himself past the isolation that serves him to create, yet keeps him defensive when facing the world. It's an album of love in all its forms: innocent, vulnerable, gentle, questionable.

Where I'm at Now embodies several palpable shifts in the S. Raekwon project, and Reynolds as a man. Completely self-produced and self-recorded (save for drums on two songs,) the music's driven by the relentlessness of the East Village and the quiet serenity of Edwardsville. The abstractions of his earlier musings transform into a warm wave of genreless coherence, drawing influences from across R&B, rock, folk, and pop to build a record that shines in its quiet spaces as much as its sweeping movements. Whether breakdown or ballad, S. Raekwon no longer hides in the codified cloaks of his metaphors and lends an honesty that grants passion and precision to the smallest details. He gives feeling to the pretty imperfections of our memories, be it the first kiss, the last touch, or the rage screaming within.

1. Darling
2. Do You Feel the Same
3. Kissing Behind Your House
4. Anywhere 4 U
5. It's No Thing
6. T.D.T.K.A.
7. After the Party
8. Forever
9. Darling (Reprise)
10. Don't Leave