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Photo: Ethan Gully

Few artists dominated the summer of 2023 like New Jersey’s BLK ODYSSY, whose sophomore album DIAMONDS & FREAKS synthesized new-age soul music with hip-hop and alternative R&B to create something entirely unique. Though barely a year has passed since its release, this week our hero returns with another new project to satiate his perpetually hungry fans. 1-800 FANTASY, BLK ODYSSY’s third album under the moniker, is a wild reintroduction to one of modern music’s best-kept secrets.

Unlike the two records that preceded it, 1-800 FANTASY sees BLK ODYSSY experimenting with alternative rock and pop stylistics in tandem with his classic arsenal of sounds. Though risky and unexpected, the result is an incredibly cohesive record whose tracks feel more like confident ventures beyond the comfort zone rather than forced reinvention. Tracks like “DELILAH” are anthemic and cinematic, with poppy percussion and abrasive guitar chords serving as a new foundation for BLK ODYSSY’s vocals to flourish and thrive. The marriage of these two styles takes many forms throughout the album—“GEMINI” with Jackie Giroux is much more brooding and hypnotic by contrast, however, it's still laced with his signature R&B falsetto at every moment.

1-800 FANTASY is almost too cohesive for its own good, as it is hard to pick apart favorite moments between the record’s 13 tracks revolving around romantic tension and emotional disparity. It’s difficult not to smile hearing the album’s guests, Wiz Khalifa and Joey Bada$$, featured on “XXX” and “STANK ROSE” respectively, reveling in the stylistic changes brought forth on this new record. Then there's the explosive album closer “LAST RESORT,” which is perhaps the closest thing that we’ll ever get to Kendrick Lamar’s “u” in our lifetimes. Whether lost in the jazzy and electric percussion of songs like “PHASE” or ensnared by the phone-operator interludes that serve as a guide on this aural journey, BLK ODYSSY’s newest release is a masterclass in tasteful and genre-pushing risk-taking that pays off on every track.

Would it be too much to ask for another album from BLK ODYSSY next summer? Perhaps, but after the past two years it’s hard to fault anyone who would. BLK ODYSSY has a history of keeping his fans in a blissful chokehold, and 1-800 FANTASY is no exception. Whether this is your first time listening to him, or if you’re a long-time devotee, there’s never been a better time to be a fan.

Listen to 1-800 FANTASY below: