In 2023, Victoria Monét stepped out from behind the boards and into the spotlight with the slinky “On My Mama”, and in the years since the in-demand songwriter has staked out territory in R&B’s upper echelons as an artist. With her second full-length, she takes listeners on an ambitious journey through her record collection and her mind. Nods to soul classics by the likes of Brandy, Kenny Lattimore and Asfhord & Simpson dot the album, but Monét shows that her musical palette is wide. On “Care For Somebody (Interlude)”, her voice curls around lyrics inspired by the 20th-century standard “Somebody,” while the heart-eyed Bruno Mars duet “That’s Why I Love You” spins out of the ’60s bolero-pop cut “Ritornerai”. In addition to Mars, Monét’s guests include SZA (on the gauzy “See You in My Dreams”), Lucky Daye (on the glossy “Maybe”), Chlöe (on the kinetic house cut “Lose Myself”) and Leon Thomas and Monét’s daughter Hazel Monét (on the profession of love “You Mean the World to Me”). But Monét doesn’t let the many cameos get in the way. Whether she’s leading gospel choirs or meticulously detailing her bedroom demands, Monét shows that her vision is boundless.