Half a decade since the release of her SAMA-nominated breakthrough EP, Elements, South African R&B songstress Elaine has unveiled her full-length debut album, Stone Cold Heart.
Having whetted the appetites of listeners with a string of singles running from her era of independence right through her time with Columbia Records, the release serves its purpose as being more than just a long-overdue coming of age for the songbird. The collection is Elaine’s decisive reintroduction to the game and a practical rebuke to all Thomases doubting her revival. Wrapped in a neat bow of facile vocal performances over familiar and experimental sonic acrobats, Elaine’s maiden outing attests to the singer’s one-of-a-kind palette as a contemporary R&B force at the forefront of pushing frontiers.
Stone Cold Heart is a double-headed LP of fourteen songs halved into two seven-track sides.
Stone Cold Heart Album Cover | SUPPLIED
Alternative R&B, tempered with elements of trap, makes up the skeleton of the A-Side. The first half of the sound selection is dominated by rippling production predicated on echoing loops, sonorous basslines, and warped piano keys. All this builds a sombre atmosphere friendly to the umbra of the album covering themes such as self-empowerment (“Broken Hearted Ass Bitch”), emotional preservation (“Going Nowhere Slowly”), destructive conflict (“Relapsing (Freestyle)” and “Fake Deep”), and infidelity (“Last Palmas Avenue”).
The B-Side, which begins promptly after the album’s lead single, “Waiting On You”, ushers the listener into the lighter portion of the journey. Addressing heartbreak (“My Lover”), romantic yearning (“La Vida Loca”, “Know Each Other”, and “Rumours”), and passionate desire (“Love Me Slowly”), the latter section features Elaine’s relatively novel moves. The 25-year-old finesses the six of the last seven songs with an up-tempo and club-ready run of cuts encompassing amapiano, afrobeats, and another unlikely bedfellow: rock.
Listen to “Las Palmas Avenue”
The cold and hurtful tone of Stone Cold Heart is indicative of a woman entangled in an internal and external tug-of-war, with the stakes in question being her mental health and the preservation of her ability to give and take love. Throughout the record – mainly the A-Side – she phases back and forth between reckless toxicity (as heard on “Fake Deep” when she admits to keeping a roster of other men on the side) and emotional implosion (as seen with “Lonely”, where she expresses existential loneliness and the toll it has taken on her mind state). With these elements taken into account as well as the spite she expresses from being internally damaged (on “Last Palmas Avenue” where she stunts on another woman she’s sharing a man with), the A-Side justifies the album’s name from the jump.
The album’s highlights mostly bloom on the B-Side. This half is built on the departure from the cold energy that powers the beginning of the album. Backed by a festive soundtrack of amapiano and afrobeats, Elaine’s lover girl spirit blossoms. Whether she’s taking it upon herself to seize the moment by opening up to her love interest (“Know Each Other”) or letting her sex appeal speak for her (“La Vida Loca” and “Love Me Slowly”), the final stretch of the LP is not only happier in comparison but signals the singer’s willingness to move on from the pains expressed on the A-Side. A perfect setup for the album’s outro, “Lost & Found”, which comes in as a full circle moment in which the singer croons: “Glory, glory, I’m free.”
With Stone Cold Heart, Elaine passes the mile where Elements lost its steam, sonically and songwriting-wise. Lyrically multi-coloured and musically diverse, the canary’s first stab at the long format is a strong one, exhibiting capability, understanding and an openness to experimentation – elements which make the album a joy and a pain to listen to all at once.
Listen to Stone Cold Heart:
