There have been many innovative R&B albums made over the past decade, but few have meshed futurism and tradition in quite the way that Danielle Ponder does on her second full-length, “Everything Has Changed.” She possesses a glass-shatteredly powerful, church-reared soul shouter voice, but uses its power sparingly, moving between it, a mid-range alto and an intimate, vulnerable soprano — sometimes shifting abruptly from it into a throat-shredding belt that is basically the opposite of vulnerable.
The songs on the album are equally diverse, mixing analog and digital sounds, moving between organic-sounding R&B and electronic backing; there’s even a gentle pop song (“SKN”), a blues number (“God of You”) and an unexpectedly early ‘70s-sounding closing track, “Laurel Canyon,” which combines a tinkling electric piano and acoustic guitars.
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Ponder’s story is as fascinating as her sound. Born in Rochester, New York but currently based in Atlanta, she grew up performing in her family’s band but focused primarily on a legal career centered on criminal justice reform. It wasn’t until her late 30s that she fully embraced a musical career, and after releasing a strong debut in 2022, “Some of Us Are Brave,” she inked with Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label, which has since merged into Dead Oceans (which is probably for the best in Ponder’s case, since her sound almost couldn’t be farther from Bridgers’).
The album slides between styles surprisingly smoothly and with a remarkable assurance; a raft of collaborators contribute production (primarily Bartees Strange, Grammy winner Mike Elizondo and Avis Reese) but there’s no question who’s in charge. The album has flashes of Gnarls Barkley, and sonically it’s consistent with the forward-looking R&B of Dijon and Brent Faiyaz, but Ponder’s powerhouse voice and unique vision place her in a realm all her own — “Everything Has Changed” is one of the most remarkable albums of 2026.
