(April 13, 2026) Natalie Duncan announced herself to the world on Devil in Me, her 2012 debut album where she displayed the full array of her talents. Duncan fused blues singing with her classical piano chops on the title track and then gave us an amalgamation of funk infused reggae on “Pick Me Up Bar.”
Her second album, 2020s Free, found Duncan homing in on the R&B aspects of her musical persona with songs such as the intimate gospel infused soul of “Brave” being one of the project’s many highlights.
On Duncan’s latest album, the recently released Black Moon, she features her talent as a jazz pianist and soul singer throughout the recording and on “Crashing Into the Dark,” the song featured on this First Listen.
Duncan uses her vocals, which are angelic, earnest, and honest, to tell her man that the safest course is one that leads him into the shelter of her home. Freedom may look good, but it comes with risk.
“Crashing In the Dark” is a mid-tempo R&B song, but Duncan does not miss the opportunity to use her jazz chops. The song finds Duncan’s piano in a conversation with Alan Mian. Then, toward the song’s end, Duncan improvises on piano, as well as synthesizer, where her atmospheric creativity contrasts with Dave ‘Big D’ Browning’s hard charging drum work.
Check out Natalie Duncan’s lead single, “Crashing Into the Dark,” here.
By Howard Dukes
