ALBUM REVIEW: Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen

Stones Throw Records

Released: 09.09.22

Markedly more accessible than its predecessor, though no less heady, Sudan Archives‘ ambitious sophomore effort charts a freewheeling jaunt through sublime soundscapes resplendent with alt. flourishes, brooding atmospherics and esoteric eclecticism. Texturally fragmented yet tonally cohesive, Natural Brown Prom Queen intuitively traces an alt. futurist lineage that reaches back from Erykah Badu and Outkast right on through to FKA Twigs and Kendrick Lamar.

Despite its sonic ambiguity, the record unspools with deceptive ease, lyrically veering between unfeigned vulnerability and libidinous rapture – a dichotomy best reified by the cooed domestic entreaties of both Flue and Milk Me, and Homesick’s unabashed sex positivity. With ‘Hot Girl Summer’ on its way out, it’s a safe bet that this’ll keep temperatures up in the fall.