BXB LOVE Embraces Being 'consistently inconsistent' on Kaleidoscopic Debut Mixtape
Photo: Kobe Boateng; Edit: BXB LOVE
Whoever said consistency is key has clearly never bathed in the kaleidoscopic sounds of BXB LOVE. The nom de plume of Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based Natasha Pheko, the singer, songwriter, and artist takes the idea of genre-bending to its limits on her introductory mixtape consistently inconsistent.
consistently inconsistent is a project that stays wholly true to its name, boldly playing with maximalist, nostalgic pop one moment only to launch into tender acoustic-led, R&B-esque ruminations the next. It's a testament to BXB LOVE's desire to shirk the restricting confines of cohesion in favor of a range of sound that speaks to the fluidity of the human condition. Impossible to succinctly, easily define but unmistakable in its enthralling scope.
"i took my fear and turned it into my super power. i was told the inconsistencies of the sounds that make up this project could be a detriment to my reception as an artist. so i chose to embrace and face that potential. we are inconsistent, as human beings. we change and grow and unfold. i believe art is a reflection of that process. our inner worlds. our revelations. and i want the reflections that i'm sharing to paint a holistic picture. i am not consistent. my journey has not been linear. and dont really have any interest in being so. this music is honest to the paths i've travelled and things i've learned, and i want to show up fully loving who i understand my Self to be, so that those who resonate and choose to stick around are there for all that i am. and have a true understanding of all the potentials they may get from me. not a picture that i’ve painted of myself using specific brush strokes," shares BXB LOVE.
While its degree of sonic cohesion is arguable, BXB LOVE makes the very notion a passing afterthought with tracks that hurl your headfirst into her patchwork world. The warm, alternative-fueled guitar licks of "Venus Gemini" hint at an idyllic love affair with '90s indie rock, while "What You Want?" and its staccato delivery and ominous, driving undercurrent speak to more foreboding yet to be fully explored terrain.
The one constant that remains throughout every moment of consistently inconsistent is BXB LOVE's praiseworthy ambition to present a multi-faceted picture of herself and her expansive artistry.
Listen to consistently inconsistent below:
