Mykki Blanco - Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep (LP) - Purple Transparent Vinyl

Mykki Blanco spent the mid 2010s blasting holes in rap’s old walls, then stepped back for a breather. Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep arrived in June 2021 as a compact, glowing reset, released through Transgressive and Blanco’s own Dogfood Music Group. It is billed as a mini‑album, but it plays like a full story, the kind you put on during twilight and end up replaying after midnight because the mood feels right.

“Free Ride” was the first hint, a velvet rush of synths and a loose, skipping beat that makes the vocals feel like they’re floating over the streetlights. FaltyDL handles a big chunk of the production here, and you can hear his ear for space and texture, the way percussion tucks in behind warm chords. Blanco leans into melody without losing bite, phrasing lines with a sing‑rap ease that never chases a pop formula. It is music for stepping out, but it is also music for staying in and feeling a bit dangerous on the couch.

“Summer Fling” is the set’s sugar hit. Kari Faux slides in with an easy hook that sticks, and the whole track has that little‑bit‑too‑late, still‑sunset energy. You can almost see the light coming off the water. Blanco lets the flirtation breathe, trading bars that feel affectionate rather than performative, like the party is real and the camera crew left thirty minutes ago. It is the sound of confidence turning soft around the edges.

Then comes “It’s Not My Choice,” which brings Dev Hynes, better known as Blood Orange, into the frame. Hynes’s voice is a gentle engine, and the track’s restraint does the talking. There is guitar sparkle, low‑key drums, and a hush that suits Blanco’s writing, which has always been diaristic but here finds a new calm. Throughout the record, the lyrics pull at old mess while refusing to sink back into it. That push and pull is what makes Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep feel like a grown chapter rather than a comeback attempt.

The sequencing is sharp. Tracks rise and dip in tempo without breaking the spell, like a DJ keeping a room warm instead of chasing peaks. House currents run through the whole thing, set against downtempo turns and sly rap cadences. The textures matter, too, from the pillowy bass to the way the reverb sits on the backing vocals. There is a club in here, sure, but there is also a studio at two in the morning, coffee going cold, the lights low, a producer nudging the snare one notch back until it clicks. That attention to feel is the record’s quiet flex.

It is also a chapter of artistic self‑trust. Blanco could have doubled down on provocation and still been compelling. Instead they let heat and intimacy lead. The hooks are memorable, the writing is honest without spoon‑feeding a thesis, and the features serve the songs rather than the other way around. It is easy to imagine these tunes living on a turntable, because they have that roundness you get from records made with air in the room. If you are crate digging for Mykki Blanco vinyl, this is the one that will surprise a friend who thinks they know the story already. Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep vinyl presses capture the low‑end swell and the shimmer in a way streaming flattens, which makes this a tidy pick for anyone who loves playing host.

Critical reception at the time reflected that warmth, with the project praised for its clarity and touch. It felt like a hinge toward what came next, but it stands on its own as a mood piece with teeth. If you are browsing a Melbourne record store or looking to buy Mykki Blanco records online, clock this alongside Mykki Blanco albums on vinyl from earlier and later phases, and you will hear the through‑line, a voice getting freer while the craft tightens. For those of us stacking shelves of vinyl records Australia wide, this one earns its spine space. It is a short record with long afterglow, best saved for evenings when you want the room to feel a little more like itself.