Album of the Week: Sudan Archives – THE BPM

THE BPM is the new album from Sudan Archives, the moniker of American singer, songwriter, and violinist Brittney Parks. It’s her third studio effort and the highly anticipated follow-up to 2022’s Natural Brown Prom Queen, one of that year’s standout releases. On THE BPM, Parks leans further into a pop-oriented sound that draws from neo-soul, hip-hop, R&B, and, as the title suggests, electronic dance music.

While her violin may not feature quite as prominently in the mix as on previous albums, its spirit remains embedded in the music’s DNA. Parks’ background as an instrumentalist informs the album’s compositional inventiveness which is full of quirks, left turns, and an unconventional approach to song structures. Full of intricacies, THE BPM is a restless, thrilling journey taken at high-speed and driven by curiosity, boundary-pushing, and a fascination with sound itself.

As with artists like Frank Ocean, Parks manages to balance experimental instincts with pop accessibility. THE BPM is her most dance-oriented release to date, leaning into club-ready rhythms on the house-inspired A Bug’s Life with its euphoric, pitch-shifted vocal samples, and the hyperpop-tinged Yea Yea Yea.

Elsewhere, the frenetic The Nature of Power and the dreamy, romantic My Type channel the spirit of Chicago house pioneers Marshall Jefferson, Frankie Knuckles, and Larry Heard, filtered through a modern lens reminiscent of Flying Lotus or A.G. Cook. The album’s wildest left turn arrives with She’s Got Pain, which unexpectedly breaks into an Irish jig before folding back into rhythmic violin motifs.

Not all of THE BPM’s best moments rely solely on fast and furious tempos. The brooding David & Goliath blends gliding violin and drill-inspired beats into something beautifully dark, while A Computer Love offers an ecstatic, almost private sense of release. THE BPM’s biggest strength is the making of experimental R&B that feels equally suited to the dancefloor and the living room, a record equally suited for late nights, on a bus with headphones on, and the in-between spaces where emotion meets rhythm.

Even as the traditional club appears to fade further from cultural prominence, THE BPM reaffirms the enduring power of the music of those spaces as a vessel for connection, catharsis, and escape. That space is now anywhere and everywhere.

Sudan Archives – THE BPM is out now on ruby red vinyl 2LP, black vinyl 2LP & CD