OBSERVATIONS FROM A CROWDED ROOM

Few artists have as keen an eye for human complexities as Joy Oladokun. The Arizona-born singer-songwriter has shown her incisive side on songs like the 2023 Noah Kahan-featuring *Proof of Life* favorite “We’re All Gonna Die” and the inspiring 2021 *in defense of my own happiness* cut “look up,” doing so with compassion and self-awareness. On this outing, which she produced herself, Oladokun turns that sharp intuition inward, pondering her place in a world that feels increasingly inscrutable. That introspection can sound confused and adrift, like on the breezy but questioning “AM I?,” or determined and purposeful, as on the sweetly defiant “flowers.” “I’D MISS THE BIRDS” feels like a thesis statement for the record, with Oladokun admitting she’d like to ditch the “Proud Boys and their women” and a “world on fire” in favor of peace, quiet, and acceptance in nature. Oladokun wraps the record with “GOODBYE,” a quietly epic ballad with soulful, old-school production and wrenchingly emotional vocals. Spoken-word interludes are sprinkled throughout the album, making for an especially immersive front-to-back listen.