The Flame (Steve Lacy album)

The Flame is an instrumental album by American musician and producer Steve Lacy, released on November 15, 2024. It represents a departure from Lacy's more vocally driven and R&B/funk-influenced previous work, focusing instead on atmospheric and experimental soundscapes.

The album features Lacy primarily playing the electric guitar, often with heavy effects processing, creating textures that range from ambient and ethereal to distorted and abrasive. The Flame is characterized by its largely improvisational feel and lack of traditional song structures. Its themes are open to interpretation, but have been described as exploring concepts of isolation, introspection, and the passage of time. Unlike his previous albums, there were no official singles released prior to the full album release. Reception has been mixed, with some critics praising its boldness and sonic exploration while others find it unstructured and less engaging than his prior work.