A twisting route to Kehlani's second proper album reached the final stretch on Valentine's Day 2020 with YG's "Konclusions," the most personal in a string of intermediary tracks on which the singer was featured. It was a fairly typical (if highly detailed) question of commitment from the headliner, answered in the affirmative by Kehlani's hook. Only a few days later, Kehlani responded to the contrary with "Valentine's Day (Shameful)," a two-part ballad in which they accosted a cheating, unappreciative ex. While the song didn't appear on May arrival It Was Good Until It Wasn't, its considered verses, linked by a chorus that only probed deeper into Kehlani's soul -- without sugar-coated sentiments for mainstream appeal -- most certainly indicated the LP's direction. It Was Good Until It Wasn't is similarly less pop than SweetSexySavage, their full-length debut, and considerably more intense than the commercial 2019 mixtape While We Wait. Rarely does it deviate from hot-blooded vexation and sensuality, inwardly and outwardly basking in and critiquing the intoxicating and ultimately poisonous aspects of relationships. Although there are some clumsy similes and metaphors, and a surplus of astrological references, its lyricism is undeniable, abundant in pithy rebukes and come-ons. And while the predominantly crawling tempos can have a tranquilizing effect, there's nuance to nearly every cut with high-level songwriting to match. Take the Boi-1da-led "Serial Lover," like a smoothed-out late-'90s meeting between Timbaland and Babyface, albeit with an explicit chorus and a boast -- "I got bodies I'm-a take to the grave/I got girls I wanna give my last name" -- that would have been instantly rejected by urban-format radio programmers decades ago. "Hate the Club," a cleverly tiptoeing, discreetly funky slow jam from Jahaan Sweet and Yussef Dayes, catches Kehlani on the reluctant prowl. They also link up with Jhené Aiko and previous collaborators Pop Oak for the gently booming "Change Your Life," a rare moment of pure sweetness amid the surrounding expressions of anguish, lust, regret, and resignation. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

1		Toxic
2		Can I
3		Bad News
4		Real Hot Girl Skit
5		Water
6		Change Your Life (feat. Jhené Aiko)
7		Belong to the Streets Skit
8		Everybody Business
9		Hate the Club (feat. Masego)
10		Serial Lover
11		F&MU
12		Can You Blame Me (feat. Lucky Daye)
13		Grieving (feat. James Blake)
14		Open (Passionate)
15		Lexii's Outro