Promised Land

the take

Damn, I haven't seen Wafia's name in ages. The last time I remember checking her music out was when I went through her discography in like 2018 after discovering her best song ever ("Only Love") on a random Spotify playlist. A part of me was hesitant to give this a listen because I was afraid of how her music would sound after years of being away from putting out music somewhat consistently. With her debut album(?!) "Promised Land", it's one of those "it's good enough but could've been way better" albums for me. Okay, hear me out. There are strong moments on here, which mostly fall on the R&B-side of things. Songs like "Something" and "Sad Shit" are among my top favorites on here, as the beautiful lush production on these two songs help elevate Wafia's vocals to heavenly heights, and also make for enjoyable songs in general. On the other side, we have more bedroom pop-ish songs, which at first were really good, but got a bit underwhelming as time went on. "Vision of Love", "Background", and "Mulberry Tree" are among the best of the aforementioned sound. While not in the same league as "Something", it shows Wafia's versatility as an artist and also showcases not only her songwriting and vocals, but also her vulnerability as well. If it wasn't for the stretch of songs from "Distant" to "House Down", this album could've been rated higher. But still, after having slight reservations due to Wafia disappearing for four years and coming back with "Promised Land", it's better than I anticipated, even with flaws and all.