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On the Rise: Ambre

Twenty tracks from a New Orleans writer and singer whose records sound like overheard conversations set to music.

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Ambré

Ambré came out of New Orleans and made her name first as a writer, which is audible immediately: her songs are structured around specific, unglamorous detail rather than around hooks, and they frequently end without a chorus arriving at all.

The production matches. Her records are low, hazy and deliberately unfinished-sounding, with vocals buried far enough into the mix that you lean in to catch a line. That is a risky choice in a genre built on vocal display, and it is what makes her interesting — she is one of very few R&B artists whose records actively resist being background music.

She has appeared repeatedly on the Insecure soundtracks, which is a reliable marker of quality in this corner of the music: that show's music supervision found more good artists early than any radio format managed.

What to listen for

"fubu" is the one most people find first and the best introduction to the writing.

"eternal sunshine" with G-Eazy and BJ The Chicago Kid is the largest-sounding thing here, and it demonstrates that she can build to something when she chooses to.

"stronger than pride" closes the playlist and is the most emotionally direct track on it.

"lost" and "Lost Without U" sit near each other and are worth comparing — one an original, the other a reading of the Robin Thicke song that strips out all its confidence.

"band practice" and "light signal" are where the production is at its most textural, and "satisfy" is the most immediate.

"Strange Froot" and "NO WAY" with TOKiMONSTA are the electronic collaborations, and the latter, with Isaiah Rashad and Joey Purp, is the most fun.

"Fellowship" with serpentwithfeet and Alex Isley is the most unusual record here by a distance.

Go deeper

pulp (2021) is the album to start with; the earlier mixtapes are rawer and in some ways more interesting.

The Insecure soundtrack compilations are worth working through in their entirety. For artists in the same territory, follow Jean Deaux, Alex Isley and Jamila Woods.

How to hear it: these records want a quiet room and no competition. Played as background they read as vague; played properly, with the volume where you can catch every half-swallowed line, the vagueness turns out to be precision — she is saying something very specific and simply refusing to raise her voice about it.

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