Blood Orange's Essex Honey Review: Memory as a Destination, Not a Home

ver the last decade, Blood Orange has carved out a distinctive place in contemporary music. Beyond his solo work, under the alias of Devonté Hynes, he has built a reputation as a composer and collaborator, bringing his signature emotional depth to projects such as Palo Alto and We Are Who We Are, as well as acclaimed releases by Solange, FKA twigs, Mariah Carey and Mac Miller. Across these varied works, Hynes has demonstrated a remarkable ability to move between artistic worlds while maintaining a voice that is unmistakably his own. Released on 29 August 2025, Essex Honey finds Devonté Hynes at his most vulnerable and introspective. As his fifth studio album under the Blood Orange name, it explores grief, memory and the complicated process of returning home.

The album arrives in the wake of profound personal loss. Following the death of his mother, Hynes found himself reflecting on his childhood and his relationship with Essex, the place where he grew up. Rather than approaching grief through dramatic gestures, Essex Honey explores it in more unpredictable ways. The result is an album that feels less concerned with providing answers than with documenting the emotional fluctuations that accompany loss.

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That sense of instability is present from the opening moments. Throughout the record, songs drift between genres, tempos and moods with little warning. At times, the shifts can feel disorientating, but that appears to be the point. Grief rarely moves in a straight line, and neither does Essex Honey. Hynes uses fragmented structures and unexpected transitions to mirror the way memories surface and emotions change without notice.

While the album is more restrained than some of Blood Orange's previous releases, his signature sound remains intact. Layers of R&B, ambient soundscapes and delicate harmonies create an atmosphere that feels both comforting and tragic. Guest appearances from Daniel Caesar, Caroline Polachek, Lorde and novelist Zadie Smith expand the album's emotional and artistic scope without distracting from its central themes.

Devonté Hynes of Blood Orange with Caroline Polachek. Photo: Blood Orange/Facebook.

One of the record's strongest moments comes with "Somewhere in Between". Built around his hypnotic synths and melody, the song captures the yearning that sits at the centre of grief. The repeated desire to "see again" becomes almost obsessive, reflecting the impossible wish shared by anyone who has lost someone they love. Even when acceptance begins to settle in, hope continues to flicker at the edges. Hynes conveys this feeling with remarkable restraint, allowing the song's emotional weight to emerge gradually rather than forcing it onto the listener.

Elsewhere, "The Last of England" stands as the album's emotional heart. Opening with a collage of overlapping voices before giving way to a slow piano progression, the track confronts the finality of death with devastating clarity. The arrangement feels fragile, as though every note is carrying the weight of memory. It is here that the connection between grief and place becomes most apparent, with Essex transformed from a geographical location into a repository for loss, nostalgia and reflection.

What makes Essex Honey so compelling is its patience. In an era where music often demands immediate impact, Hynes asks listeners to sit with uncertainty and silence. This is not an album built around easy catharsis. Instead, it recognises that healing is slow, uneven and often incomplete.

In doing so, Essex Honey becomes one of Blood Orange's most affecting works to date. It is an album that understands grief not as a singular event, but as an ongoing conversation with memory. Perhaps Charli XCX was right in calling it a “Blood Orange Summer” at Coachella 2025.