Grammy-winning singer Andra Day has returned with her third album, CASSANDRA (cherith), via Warner Records.
The 16-track set includes the singles “Where Do We Go,” “Probably” and “Chasing.”
Titled after the singer’s birth name, CASSANDRA welcomes listeners into her realm as she treks through the different stages of love.
Day further explains, “CASSANDRA (cherith) is a journey through my soul, from a state of being already full rather than from a place of lack. It’s an intimate reflection of my personal experiences and growth, presented through the language of music.”
Not only is CASSANDRA Day’s most personal project in her canon, but it’s also her most daring. For starters, it’s her first album to get a parental advisory label, a signal that she doesn’t hold back. (Only four of the 16 tracks are marked as explicit.) As far as the sonics, Day’s enchanting vocals flow over various soundscapes adorned with live instrumentation, a nod to her versatility.
Opening with the cathartic “Maybe Next Time,” Day gives herself the space to let out a swirl of emotions stemming from a sinking relationship. “Now I wish I could write you an album full of love songs / But I can’t seem to get one cause this n***a keep doing wrong,” she sings over a jazzy backdrop.
Speaking on the track, Day explains, “I love hip-hop. I like rap. I like flow-singing. So, with ‘Maybe Next Time,’ I knew I wanted a song that did not have a structure. I didn’t want it to have a verse and a chorus and a verse and a chorus. I just wanted to be like if I, as a singer, was flowing and I was rapping. And it’s a little bit of a read. It’s like a venting session.”
“Midnight” is a vintage soul track that’s a nod to Day’s early sound. Here, Day sings about the aftermath of a lost love. “I left my heart at midnight / No calling card / Just goodbye,” Day vocalizes over a cinematic production.
“Nervous,” which interpolates Seals and Crofts’ 1972 hit “Summer Breeze,” shows off Day’s sensual side.
She notes, “‘Nervous’ really came from the power of being a Black woman. And then it transformed into just the power of being. I wanted something that felt sexy. I don’t really do sexy records. I wanted something that was a sexier record without talking about sex too on the nose.”
On the introspective “Still,” Day leans on her Higher Power as she finds solace amid adversity. The closing track, “Thank You God,” is a continuation of “Still” and features a cameo from Day’s mother, who concludes the album with a reading of “Psalm 62.”
Regarding the album’s finale, Day shares, “‘Thank You God’ is really exactly that. For some people, it’s affirmations. For me, it’s more than just positive affirmations. It’s the positive affirmations that come from thanking God and thanking God for who I am. And after all of that stuff, ‘Why, why, why?’ Being able to look back and say thank you for all of that feels like one of the biggest blessings ever. I wanted to leave people with that at the end of the record. All of that matters, and it will work out for your ultimate good.”
CASSANDRA is the follow-up to Day’s 2021 album, The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture).
The Grammy-winning soundtrack included the original song “Tigress & Tweed,” which Daye wrote and produced with Raphael Saadiq.
Before that, in 2015, Day released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall.
The album included her signature hit, “Rise Up,” which was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January; it first went platinum in July 2017.
Stream Andra Day’s new album CASSANDRA (cherith) below.