Album Review: Adjust Brightness by Bilal

After releasing ‘Live at Glasshaus,’ Bilal makes a grand return with his sixth studio album in nine years, infusing jazz, soul, and funk with electronic and futuristic elements.

Courtesy of Bilal Music.

Bilal has been building over the years. In 2015, collaborating with Adrian Younge on In Another Life, Bilal ventured into psychedelic funk. The album was more than a return—it was a reinvention that showcased his ability to fuse vintage vibes with contemporary beats, setting a foundation for his ongoing musical innovation. Following that, Live at Glasshaus, released earlier in the year, captured Bilal’s raw, live energy, featuring collaborations with Questlove, Common, and Robert Glasper. In this project, he revisited his classics, breathing new life into them and demonstrating his growth while honoring his past works. This live compilation bridged his earlier creations with his future direction, highlighting his ever-evolving two-decade stron career.

Adjust Brightness, arriving eight years after In Another Life, suggests fine-tuning vision and adjusting how we perceive Bilal’s music. The album appears to amalgamate his musical evolution—the soul, the funk, the live energy—all filtered through modern electronic soundscapes. It seems Bilal is refining his musical identity, bringing clarity to his artistic expression in previously unexplored ways. “Sunshine” didn’t click right away, but it’s influenced by electronic sounds and transformed into a darker, futuristic sound, hinting at Bilal’s intention to reshape genres rather than revisit them. Alongside the second single, “Tell Me,” he seems to blend his soulful roots with electronic and abstract elements, crafting a reflective and forward-thinking album.

But the singles don’t tell the full story. This album does take us into a different territory that requires multiple listens because who else sounds like this? None. Bilal is in a class of its own, judging by the title track. “A2Z” offers an intimate look into themes of love, connection, and simplicity amidst complexity. It doesn’t push any ground lyrically, but sonically, Simon Mavin’s production help paint a vivid picture of personal and relational anatomy, juxtaposed with a quest for tranquility in an often chaotic world. The experimental, rock-influenced “Quantum Universe” mediates the interconnectedness of humanity and divinity, exploring love, faith, and existential contemplation. Throughout the track, Bilal reflects on the human condition, oscillating between light and dark, as he muses, “I was running from the light to the dark, trying to find my way back to the divine.”

Robert Glasper lends his hand with “The Story” on the production that helps Bilal get in his storytelling bag. His rawness, combined with the emotional depth of Bilal’s delivery, offers a sobering reflection on the complexities of life and love. The song chronicles a tragic narrative, capturing the struggles and fleeting hopes of individuals caught in difficult circumstances. The song opens by introducing a character who is shaped by a cold and unforgiving world (“Like a child born into a world so cold”), drawing attention to the loss of innocence and the subsequent turn to violence as a mode of survival (“Changed to an animal, can only kill”). Bilal zeroes in on transformative moments where love tries but fails to overcome past traumas (“A girl would learn to heal, she took a chance/She fell so deep in love, home at last/‘Till old jealous past showed up and crashed”).

Karriem Riggins brings his unique flavor to “Evr Chngin Nrml,” where Bilal sings about the pain of isolation and uncertainty, mirroring our current social climate. “I searched to find the comic reason why/Cause fate would have me quarantined alone/And after that I lost my phone,” he sings, comparing a seemingly trivial incident with the deep emotional void left by solitude. “Who We R Now” channels Prince and deftly highlights the bittersweet hindsight and clarity that post-relationship reflection often brings. He shifts the narrative to reflection and self-awareness, questioning what it means to find one’s true self amid a partnership: “Yes, we are who we are now/If there’s nothing we can do right now.” 

Despite all this experimentation, Bilal doesn’t sacrifice his soulful roots. The steamy “Lay You Around” thematically oscillates between moments of resolve, reflecting the cyclical nature of comfort and strength in relationships. Another song that fits the bill is “Conditional.” Set against the backdrop of soulful melodies, the song opens with the imagery of an independent woman with her sense of direction. The smooth, string-heavy “Micro Macro” masterfully blends poetic introspection and soulful expression as a closer. Bilal contrasts these ponderings with the immediacy of human experiences, capturing the fleeting nature of youth, and the candid metaphors—“Universe, see it rise/Like a dream comes to life”—intensify the song’s evocativeness, marrying existential musings with an almost tangible sensory experience on what Adjust Brightness is.

Standout (★★★★½)

Favorite Track(s): “Evr Chngin Nrml,” “The Story,” “A2Z,” “Conditional”