Durand Bernarr - BERNARR. [2LP]

Durand Bernarr named his 2026 album after his father, and BERNARR. plays like a tribute to the sound engineer dad who shaped his ears, spread across two LPs.

It follows BLOOM, the record that won him a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album, and it nearly started life as that album's deluxe edition. A handful of new songs turned into dozens of ideas, and the sessions grew into a full statement. Bernarr has called it a time capsule of everything that shaped him, from yacht-rock smoothness and alternative rock to funk, gospel-trained runs and the classic grooves of Chaka Khan and Rufus.

Wild Ride, the lead single, teams him with songwriter James Fauntleroy, and Waiting brings Big Sean into the fold for an R&B and rap crossover. 10,000 Lifetimes closes the album as a duet with Sevyn Streeter, and Khalid and BJ the Chicago Kid also drop in along the way.

Through it all, that elastic, acrobatic voice stays the main event. Bernarr can go from a whisper to a gospel-sized belt in a single line, and he clearly loves every second of it.

Big-hearted, funky and deeply personal, this is a singer at his most confident, saying thank you to the people who made him in the best way he knows.