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Photo: Grant Spainer

Artistry is of the mind, and that is undoubtedly true of LA-based, Sudanese-American talent Dua Saleh, whose new record I SHOULD CALL THEM explores their intellectual and emotional mind caverns to reveal a symphony of sounds and accompanying lyrics that ride a fine line across musical concepts. In each chamber that listeners peek into, light infiltrates and colors become brighter.

The opening track “chi girl,” a short story about situational love, is a head-bobbing and elegant R&B entrance to the thoughts and desires of Saleh, who confidently narrates the experience through choruses gummy with reverb, booming to the beat. With a sliding bassline, “want,” the second track, is powerful and amped-up fun that energizes with Saleh’s jolting rap verses, cutting swiftly and sharp with assertion and flamboyance.

As drowsy guitar strums introduce us to “time & time again,” it becomes clear that Saleh is as confident as they are vulnerable. As they discuss romance, that emotional tug of war feels natural and harmonious nestled in the choruses they share with the warm vocals of Sid Sriram. The song, driven by lyrics like “Time and time again, save your voice and motions / Lovers of your past couldn't crack your form,” shows a cautious reconciliation.

Where songs like “unruly” feel like a beautiful blend of genres, mesmerizing with their orchestral swells and electro-powered shifts into rich ambiances, songs like “cradle” are more straightforward bass-guided narratives. The songs emanate from the mind of Saleh, and take shape based on the emotion they attribute to each experience, meaning that each song is like a hideout where one can stop in, listen, and truly escape.

Much of the escapism is in the mechanical sounds of each track—the steely bip-bap beats, motorized, distant guitar licks, and springing, high-treble basslines. The gears in motion give Saleh’s voice an even more human feel, connecting with listeners in this world they built, in some way guiding them to the deeper meaning of their messages. What is most interesting is the choice: to be guided or to roam free, Saleh provides that.

The final track, “2excited,” boldens the duality of distortion and delicacy with creamy saxophone notes contrasting with breaking, harsh-static sounds, both driven by Saleh’s mood of remembrance—sometimes forgiving and sometimes steadfast. It is a very human way to remember, to ride the natural rollercoaster of emotions that memories create. As the music comes to an end, we are left to understand that someone let us in on the ride.

That is the cavernous mind of the artist, with its smooth and rough surfaces, underground lakes, and peeks of light to the influencing world outside. Each song is from a human experience, and in this case, powered by electronics and automation-like efficiency in production. The marriage of human and machine, at times harmonious, in I SHOULD CALL THEM makes Saleh’s style their own, vivid, true, and one to remember.

Listen to I SHOULD CALL THEM below: