Not long after releasing her 2017 singles "Dearly Beloved" and "Don't Want You Back,"
Kiesza's career -- and life -- took a major detour. When a taxi crashed into the car she was riding in, she sustained a traumatic brain injury that took months to recover from and left her with lingering fatigue, memory, and vision problems. After everything she's been through, it's easy to root for
Kiesza, but on its own terms, her second album
Crave is an unqualified success. Considering how hard she had to work to make music again, it's not surprising that she's become a more focused and polished singer and songwriter. Even more impressively, she makes it sound effortless: "When Boys Cry," a bouncy exploration of male vulnerability that resembles
the Bangles' cover of "Iko Iko," boasts pithy, vivid lyrics like "Boys try to tell the world that they're fine/But boys lie/Their tears fall between the lines." There's a newfound lightness and brightness to songs such as "Can't Be Saved," where the dramatic breakdowns, soaring choruses, and abundant gated drums prove she's as committed to breathing new life into '80s and '90s dance-pop as she was on her 2014 hit "Hideaway." That song proved she had an understanding of that era's sounds that was deeper than many of her peers, and touches like "Run Renegade"'s slapping synth bass are still enough to give listeners of a certain age some serious deja vu. While her style may be rooted in the past,
Crave finds
Kiesza looking forward. Not only does she deliver a flawless freestyle homage with "Love Me with Your Lie," jams like "All of the Feelings" and "Sky Ain't the Limit" are just as joyous as anything released by
Carly Rae Jepsen,
Betty Who, or
Kimbra.
Crave is also a remarkably concise album, adding to the impression that
Kiesza doesn't want to waste any more time. Each of its songs feels intentional, and whether she's reveling in the melodrama of "Love Never Dies" or leaving it behind on the giddy rave/hip-hop fusion of "Dance with Your Best Friend," its different facets come together in a way that's more organic and satisfying than on
Sound of a Woman. A triumphant return for longtime fans and a winning introduction for newcomers,
Crave shows
Kiesza has only gotten better at reinventing the idealism and big emotions of a bygone era for another generation. ~ Heather Phares
![True [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602537484607_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "True [Deluxe Edition]")
