You may know Thair as the lead singer from Astro Samurai but today he stepped into a new lane with his debut solo album Summer Luhh. You can stream and download it below.
The album is like the singer, defined by dichotomy that finds a harmony within its differences. At moments it is reticent and poignant, in the opening line of the album he says, “It doesn’t make me sad that my roots grew tired seeking relief, in this time I sprouted in many directions”. But this sentiment is contradicted with the dance-able if minimal beat underneath his poem, which continues and grows into a powerful poppy album. The standout hit from Summer Luhh is “Thotty Dismorphia”, a confident-while-insecure song about internet culture and celebrating while fearing your own body. There’s something reminiscent of D’Angelo in Summer Luhh, maybe it’s his out of this world vocal range, maybe it’s the precision and attention to detail that you can hear in the album. Everything in this album is from Thair, from the album cover to the underlying production and especially the attitude.
When asked what the album was about Thair responded, “It’s really just about reflecting on love in different forms. Loss of love. False love. Seeking love. Finding love. Of course the songs aren’t in a thematic order because that’s not how love is. It all happens randomly and at times you weren’t expecting.” This is an album for everyone, but it draws from his experience as a gay, black man in 2018 and the authenticity which comes with that is much needed in a such a superficial time.
Contrary to what you would expect from the title, the album isn’t actually about summer love. There is a bright positivity throughout it that makes it feel like a summer album, but Thair says it’s not really that, “Tricked ya now you’re crying in the club” he joked.
Look for new visuals coming from Thair, but until then check out the video he made for an earlier version of Fruitflies