“There’s these particular, peculiar truths to the South that are terrifying for people to grapple with that have just been completely wallpapered over,” Adia Victoria said in an interview with She Shreds magazine following the release of her 2016 debut, Beyond the Bloodhounds—an innovative, haunting modern blues record that tears off the wallpaper to reveal those hidden truths, no matter how ugly they may be. Victoria just released her sophomore album, Silences, and it’s already a contender for one of my favorites of the year. “The City” includes a sample of “Lady Sings the Blues,” with Billie Holiday’s voice hovering over her like a guardian angel, while standout track “Different Kind of Love” is made great by the interplay between woozy horns and eerie electric guitar riffs. Throughout Silences, Victoria explores the oppression she’s faced as a Black woman living in the South, her religious upbringing, and the personal demons with which she’s still reckoning.

by Ciara Dolan