It Was Divine
| Alina Baraz
It Was Divine
Baraz announced her debut studio album It Was Divine on March 10, released on April 24th, 2020. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Clash Magazine
‘It Was Divine’, if not flawless, is near perfect. A consistent flow of well-produced tracks, a journey from honeymoon periods to lovers quarrels, and a sprinkling of acoustic ballads, Baraz’s debut is a track-for-track triumph.
-
Rated R&B
Focusing on love, self and interpersonal, Baraz shows her scars from a painful breakup, without wallowing in self-pity. Touching on the healing journey of self-awareness and letting go, she finds that everything she’s wanted and deserved is within.
-
Euphoria
Even with perfectly executed features from 6lack, Smino, and Nas, there is never a moment where Baraz isn’t the most compelling voice on the project. Her assurance in who she is musically is divinely apparent.
-
The Line of Best Fit
It Was Divine is a near-flawless ode to falling in love. Alina Baraz’s comfort in vulnerability and her figurative approach in conveying this are the desired ingredients for a remarkable debut offering.
-
Diandra Reviews
When we think of nostalgia, it is a sense of sad, beautiful “missing.” Sometimes, it is to yearn for the past or something you never had. Baraz taps into that feeling with a level of seduction and lustfulness; draping rhythms as if they were velvet emotions that you use to cover your home’s windows and keep your heart hidden from the night.
-
Okayplayer
As a whole, It Was Divine is a detailed, ethereal experience. Baraz has an innate ability to write about all the shiny and also the not so beautiful parts of relationships. That combined with the subtle and exploratory production she constantly enlists is what keeps fans coming back for more (that includes me).
-
Def Pen
It Was Divine is a worthwhile listening experience that R&B lovers should enjoy. Pulling in features from the likes of Nas, Khalid and more, Ms. Baraz is simply a mesmerizing sensation with the content she presents.
-
NME
well-crafted R&B seems listless compared to the genre’s current crop.
-
ctrl
Is the project creative, genre-shifting, or unlike anyone has ever heard? Not quite. Is it great background music for self-healing? Yes, yes, it is, and that's an accomplishment considering the intention of the project was to be crafted as delicate as it can be.
-
All Music
Alina Baraz, 2020's It Was Divine, showcases the vocalist's sultry, pop- and hip-hop-infused down-tempo R&B.
-
The Fresh Committee
So with an hour to kill, a lack of sonic and vocal diversity forces the fate of this album to fall upon the shoulders of her pen. And although hers is far from the worst you’ll hear in 2020, it is equally as far from the best.
-
Medium
It Was Divine proves that there are layers to Baraz as an artist, especially as a songwriter. Alina has succeeded in telling no one else’s story but her own, and her music has grown and matured as a result.
-
North by Northwestern
I would recommend listening to this album if you want to feel contemplative and reflective during quarantine when everything feels all too uncertain and broken at times. Baraz stated that she “wanted to heal with this album” in an interview with Apple Music. I can confidently vouch for her: It Was Divine truly does have healing properties.
-
Arts + Culture
It Was Divine is ethereal, elegant and alluring.
-
Thomathy Entertainment
This is 16 song album full of soul, love and heartbreak; beautifully executed.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments