★★★★☆ “Dawn Richard’s long journey culminates in the bountiful grooves of Second Line The adventurous R&B artist takes her sound to bold new places, while creating a New Orleans funk utopia all her own.” —Rolling Stone
“With its 16 tracks that blur the lines between song, spoken word, and short stories, Second Line is a continuation of an avant-garde musicality born from the place Richard calls home” —Pitchfork
"[Dawn Richard]'s newest album pays homage to the liveliness of NOLA parades while embodying a seductive blend of deep electronic sounds." —MTV
“It's an open and honest release that straddles styles like R&B, house, footwork and New Orleans bounce—all, crucially, Black-rooted genres—as Richard and LA producer Ila Orbis (who is credited across the record) use her past encounters to propel her sound into the future once again. This introspective-meets-outwardly-reflective approach is something we've come to expect from Richard, but it feels most realised on Second Line. Maybe it's because the inspiration, and the movement that Richard wishes to usher in, feels more urgent this time around.” —Resident Advisor
This week, we were treated to not just one Dawn Richard television appearance but two! King Creole herself first stopped by GMA3 on Memorial Day (subtly decked out in red, white, and blue), followed by a guest spot on the first Wendy Williams Show back with a live audience on Tuesday. Both appearances featured a performance of Second Line’s disco showstopper “Boomerang.” Watch ’em today!
Much like the New Orleans–born artist who created it, Second Line is an unapologetic genre bender that pushes boundaries, expands possibilities, and shatters expectations. It’s more than just an album: Second Line is a cohesive sensory experience that questions traditional ideas of sound, production, and visual aesthetics as they relate to music. Its interlocking parts tell an epic story about the quest for artistic expression, with Dawn describing her project as “a movement to bring pioneering Black women in electronic music to the forefront.”
The story of Second Line centers on Dawn’s persona King Creole, assassin of stereotypes, a Black girl from the South at a crossroads in her artistic career. To move forward, she decides to look back, but where previous album New Breed took influence from her father, Second Line is illuminated by Dawn’s mother. Her proud, repeated proclamation of “I’m a Creole girl” introduces the ecstatic dancehall pop of “Jacuzzi,” and later, on the cinematic album centerpiece “Mornin | Streetlights,” she answers Dawn’s question of how many times she has been in love. Intimate conversations like this between the two are interlaced throughout Second Line, giving credence to how the protagonist came to be, and direction to build a lane forward.
Don’t forget to rewatch the music videos for “Bussifame,” “Pilot (a lude),” and “FiveOhFour (a lude)” too! Second Line is shipping now from the Merge store on CD and LP along with an exclusive lyric zine and long-sleeved t-shirt.This week, we were treated to not just one Dawn Richard television appearance but two! King Creole herself first stopped by GMA3 on Memorial Day (subtly decked out in red, white, and blue), followed by a guest spot on the first Wendy Williams Show back with a live audience on Tuesday. Both appearances featured a performance of Second Line’s disco showstopper “Boomerang.” Watch ’em today!
