CAOS

A lot has changed in the eight years since Miguel last released an album, from the state of the world to his personal life. (In 2023, his divorce from longtime partner Nazanin Mandi was finalized.) If 2017’s *War & Leisure* hinted at turmoil both personal and political, the fifth album from the R&B auteur lands directly in the thick of it. On *CAOS*, the fight for peace is messy, but cathartic. Previous hits like “Adorn” and “Coffee” reveled in the bliss of intimacy, but here Miguel ventures beyond soulful psychedelia to embrace darker sounds and themes, landing somewhere between P-Funk and Nine Inch Nails. In the dark underbelly of the present, love feels a lot like rage, and vulnerability and anarchy coexist more easily than you’d think. He’s masked, strapped, and ready for whatever on “New Martyrs (Ride 4 U),” a Bonnie and Clyde anthem for uncertain times. He sings in Spanish on the apocalyptic title track, interpolates 2Pac on “The Killing” (“I ain’t a killer, but don’t push me”), and flips a poignant piano ballad into a scuzzy house thumper on “RIP.” A streak of primal lust flashes through the darkness, and on “Angel’s Song,” he swoons amidst the flames (“I forget the world’s unraveling when I look at you”). And on the grungy “Always Time,” he delivers an elegy for his marriage, singing: “Maybe this time, love means letting go.”

The adventurous R&B artist calls on his heritage as he processes our brutal reality.

Miguel’s long-awaited new album is already the subject of fan and music industry lore. Postponed, delayed, and cancelled more times than anyone can