Just like her prior projects, Ari Lennox’s Vacancy is an ode to traditional R&B. The D.C. artist pairs layered harmonies with stripped-back instrumentals and plenty of horns. Her recognizable, drawn-out vocals and slow-jam sensibility carry through nearly all of this 15-track LP.

Lennox is comfortable being a little unserious from time to time, using social media skits to tee up the album — a humour that carries into the music itself. “Mobbin In DC” is playful as she sings, “You know where I stay, you know where I be / This ain’t calculus, no ChatGPT.” “Pretzel” leans into bedroom-command flirtation (“Flip me and fold me, you put it in a pretzel”), while on “Under The Moon” she seizes the chance to howl and pulls it off flawlessly. Lennox might sprinkle in a gag or two, but her vocals are nothing to play about.

Vacancy preserves her much-loved, distinct R&B sound while introducing a few new textures, like “Twin Flame.” She tests the reggae waters on “Cool Down,” but it’s “Company” with Buju Banton where she really flourishes, gliding over a bouncy, sun-warmed beat. There’s a vacancy waiting for this album — and it’s right next to the replay button.