ALBUM REVIEW: Hype Nostalgia by Rituals of Mine

Oct 5, 2020Oct 5, 2020 AnnaMarie Otor 0 Comments

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WRITTEN BY: Vince Barreras

Rituals of Mine is the electronic/R&B project of Terra Lopez. This is her long awaited second LP, and what a record this is. Hype Nostalgia is on Carpark Records, and combines hard and heavy trap beats, dark and beautiful synths and wonderful guest appearances by none other than the fierce and powerful Kristina Esfandiari of King Women and what seems to be dozens of other projects. She and Lopez are collaborators on one of the tracks, “Free Throw,” which is a standout. This record is as real as it is addictive. The emotion of Lopez’s voice on every track is powerful, and sweet, but ever so gentle. It is the pleasant sounding vocal on the tracks and deep beats that help propel this record to the front of the pack of other electronic heavy R&B records.

Lopez uses experiences life to guide her music. She lost her father and close friend a few years back and wanted to explore the grief in her music and the results were this record. It’s both beautiful with lush musical elements and soft and pretty vocals that are relaxing to hear. This record from front to back is an experience worth going through. Songs like “Tether” and “Come Around Me” are slow, dark, and dreamy, especially “Come Around Me.” What a song to just vibe out to and such a deep message. Lopez talks about being taken advantage of in the industry as a gay women of color. The lyrics “none of that fake s**t when you come around me” are the thesis of the song and speak volumes. The vocals flow so nicely and hit so hard. Lopez has such a pretty vocal tone that guides her well throughout this song and album. From her Bandcamp page it is shared that, “Lopez wanted to create a soundscape from a pre-loss perspective, revealing how the darkness she experiences was just microcosms of her being.” — which is a perfect encapsulation of this record.

“Expectations” has more of that slow almost chillwave R&B sound while “Heights” captures more of a trap style of song that’s both experimental but familiar to hear. “Trauma” is a trap banger that is hard hitting and intense, followed by “Post Trauma” which is a short seventeen seconds of noise. This transitions to “Free Throw” featuring KRIS, who is one of many of Kristina Esfandiari alter-egos. This song goes hard and plays out like a neo-trap song. It is totally original and addictive to listen to, and also tackles a very important issue — fake support by male counterparts in the music industry.

“Reflex” goes slower and has those high hat trap fills and “65^th St” continues on that similar pace. “Omen” still continues to carry these neo-R&B type beats and has a lot of atmosphere along its runtime and “222” is somewhat of an instrumental track with mild vocals over top of it but non the less it’s nice to hear. “Hope U Feel” is incredibly bass heavy, and the concluding track “The Last Wave” has these really sullen piano chords that are played while Lopez sings about overcoming her despair and talks about her father’s passing. This is about as intimate of a song as you’ll hear all year and finishes the record.

Terra Lopez created a beautiful sounding record. From front to back it is hard to pick tracks that aren’t enjoyable. It comes as no surprise that the track featuring KRIS is a standout and the concluding track in general is about as heartfelt as songs can come. This is an overall great record that has a lot going for it in terms of influence and sound. It’s a slow R&B record with really cool and interesting instrumentations that are lush, futuristic and could usher in a future genre sound for sure. Lopez is a true talent and this record will probably be included on most listener’s end of the year favorites.

For Fans of: KRIS, Tessa Rae, Sølv

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