Upon listening to “A Love Surreal” the new release from Bilal, it’s evident that this record finds him in brighter spirits. Whereas “Air tights Revenge” had some dark moments, the mood is considerably lighter on his new release. Although there are moments when he deals with setbacks and losing love, there are many blissful moments and he appears to be having fun in the process. Musically the album has a jazz rock blend filled with tasty melodies that’s reminiscent of early Steely Dan. That’s evident on the tracks “Back to Love” and “Winning Hand”. “Right At The Core” follows suit as well plus the presence of pianist Robert Glasper here with an assist from the vocal trio King pays big dividends. Glasper creates beautiful melodies on “Butterfly”, a beautiful ballad that highlights the chemistry between these two musicians. “Never Be The Same” is a soulful slow burner that was recently sung by Joy Denalane that certainly qualifies as dim the lights music. Finally free of contractual constraints, Bilal is able to create music with no limitations. This isn’t watered down RnB, instead it’s a refreshing collection of quality that merely scratches the surface of his immense talent.
