Review: Bedouine — Neon Summer Skin

Bedouine
Neon Summer Skin
Thirty Tigers
Street: 06.05.2026
Bedouine = The Carpenters + Weyes Blood x Laura Marling

Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, known for her mellow voice and ability to conjure deep emotional resonance amid calming vocals that swathe the listener in sunshine. Her fourth record, Neon Summer Skin, continues her iconic musical retrofitting as she crafts modern indie folk with a distinct 60s and 70s style. However, Neon Summer Skin is different from her other albums.

“Written after what I suspected would be my last trip to my childhood home in Saudi Arabia, it was the first time I approached a record with intention,” Korkejian said of Neon Summer Skin on her Instagram. With this knowledge in the back of my head, I went into the record with my ears even more perked than they were when I found out there was a new Bedouine album.

Neon Summer Skin opens with a succession of the four singles released in the months before the record, starting with “On My Own.” It has a Carpenters-esque musicality. All the instruments are there — the nostalgic piano and drums, the rhythm and harmonies. Thematically, the song hearkens back to “Solitary Daughter” from Bedouine’s 2017 eponymous debut album. I’m a sucker for super low vocals, and Bedouine’s voice can go very deep as she harmonizes with herself, especially in this track.

Another of my favorite tracks was “Always on Time.” It’s quiet and slow, with mostly waltz piano and Bedouine’s gorgeous voice singing, “If you feel you lost a thrill / nothing left to thaw the chill / you’re feeling tardy to the grind / dear, we’re always right on time.” The lyrics sound like a friend speaking directly into your ear and giving you gentle words of encouragement: “It’s a crime to not take your time / we’re always on time.”

“One Thing Right” feels extra 60s and 70s. I love the bits of flute interspersed as Bedouine sings, “I did one thing right / it’s you, it’s you / I’m doing one thing right.” The song is a warm high point before the title track drops us into a deep longing for home. “Neon Summer Skin” holds childhood nostalgia in quiet guitar, low horns and lots of pauses of silence. Bedouine sings the repeating phrase, “Everybody’s older now,” with varying degrees of confusion, loss, longing, and acceptance. This track prepares us for the emotions coming next.

“Canopies (Intro)” is a speech between a younger woman and an older woman: “Okay, your mom put you in an orphanage to protect you.” The older woman’s speech returns in the midst of the emotional piano and heartwrenching lyrics of “Canopies.” I was left wondering who was speaking, so I did some research. In a recent New York Times interview, Korkejian explained that “Canopies (Intro)” was her talking to her mother. Her grandmother put her mother in a Lebanese orphanage at seven “to protect her from an abusive family member.” “Canopies” is written from the perspective of Korkejian’s grandmother, a woman longing for her distant child. I think this is the true center of the album and its wistful homesickness. It’s the core of generations of love and longing carried from mother to daughter across oceans and continents.

“Deghma Cheega” is bossa nova sung in Armenian, and its brightness brought the album out of its dark night of the soul. Directly following, “Na Na Na” is full of more gentle jazz. It’s really soothing and I just want to listen to it all summer long. The penultimate track, “White Patent Leather,” turns to a minor key. I love the melody and aesthetic of this song and how there’s a sprinkle of unease in both the music and the lyrics about a sacrificed lamb.

Neon Summer Skin ends with “Canopies (Solo Piano),” returning us to the heart of the album while also creating a reflective and soft conclusion. Even after only one listen, I could see the difference Bedouine was talking about with this record. She’s always possessed great skill in carrying deep emotions in the quiet warmth of her voice, but Neon Summer Skin brought that to a whole new level. Thunderous applause from me! —Rebekah Bowman

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