Fousheé: Pointy Heights – a Caribbean-facing new direction

American singer-songwriter Brittany Fousheé’s music is often unpredictable. An in-demand collaborator, her soft-toned R&B vocals feature on singer Steve Lacy’s 2022 track Sunshine from the Grammy-winning album Gemini Rights, while her solo work spans the intimate, whispered R&B of 2021 EP Time Machine and 2022’s explosive debut album, Softcore, which harnessed rageful punk and screamo metal.
Fousheé’s follow-up, Pointy Heights, is another step in a new direction. Named after the plot of land her grandfather owns in Jamaica, several of the record’s 10 tracks feature the Caribbean island’s distinctive swing. War channels Althea & Donna’s 1978 hit Uptown Top Ranking in its joyously jaunty piano line, while opener Birds, Bees features an earworming reggae groove.
Yet, it’s Fousheé’s use of indie guitars that sets the album apart. The distorted melodies of 100 Bux find her usually mellifluous voice adapted into a lackadaisical drawl that perfectly suits the track’s downtempo feel, while Feel Like Home blends doo-wop backing vocals with spangling lead guitar to produce a wistful ballad. The synth-disco experiments of Loversland and Rice & Peas feel somewhat jarring amid the record’s strumming palette; otherwise, Pointy Heights plays as an exciting chapter in the singer’s shapeshifting repertoire.