American pop maestro Kelela returns with her newest offering, new avatar. Across Take Me Apart, Raven and her early mixtapes, the Washington, D.C.-raised artist has continually treated genre as something to move through rather than something to belong to. On new avatar, her third studio album, that instinct becomes the entire point. Released on 10 July via Warp Records, the album finds Kelela reconnecting with the rock and indie music that shaped her earliest songwriting while folding those influences into the futuristic R&B and electronic language she has spent more than a decade developing.
The result is perhaps her most unpredictable record yet. Where Raven immersed itself in club music, new avatar is more interested in distorted guitars against immaculate vocals, shoegaze textures against electronic percussion, and moments of tenderness rubbing against flashes of anger. It is an album about transformation, but not the polished, effortless kind. Kelela sounds like she is actively tearing apart one version of herself to discover what might exist underneath.
‘idea 1’ sets that tension, opening in an atmospheric haze before expanding into distorted guitar to sound both intimate and massive. Kelela’s controlled voice floats over production that pulls her electronic sensibilities into a rougher, physical space. ‘point blank’ and ‘goin down’ build on this guitar-heavy approach.
Collaborations expand the album’s palette: A.K. Paul features on ‘outta time’, Fousheé joins on ‘new life forms’, and PinkPantheress’s airy vocals and garage rhythms on ‘the bridge’ link to Kelela’s club past. This renders new avatar far more compelling than a standard genre shift. Rather than adopting rock or ditching club music, Kelela blends her experimental roots with her accrued experience. Drawing on her origins in D.C.’s indie scene, the record embraces an unpolished creative freedom. It also displays raw emotional openness, allowing passion, grief, and anger to coexist without resolution.
The closing track ‘if we meet again’ offers an icy, vocal-led ending, a quiet acceptance after 40 minutes of distorted guitars, club rhythms, and emotional turbulence. Across 12 tracks, new avatar thrives on restlessness. Fittingly, Kelela adds another layer to her expansive world without abandoning her core identity.
Listen to new avatar:
