Main Menu

Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 09:15:25 AM

Login with username, password and session length

New Janelle Monae album

Started by Z, April 28, 2018, 09:44:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Z

Thought a fair few here liked her? Struggling to make myself care tbh, the EP and ArchAndroid were both really great but the last one couldn't grab me at all and really felt like she was going down a direction I found thoroughly boring.

It's out now and the reviews are extremely strong, definitely album-of-the-year levels of uniformity (w/e of the Guardian, surprisingly). The pre-release hype for this new one seemed to imply it would be getting extremely strong scores by default in that Lemonade kind of way so I'm a bit wary, especially after hearing the Grimes song.

Anyone listen to it yet?

BlodwynPig

about to listen, but she's become quite big now and I fear mainstream success coupled with current events may take the edge of earlier creativity.

rue the polywhirl

Not overly impressed with it. The Brian Wilson feature on the first track got my hopes up and the beats are all very shiny and proficient but it just doesn't deliver many/any big toons. The main political message seems to be 'I'm mega into muff now' and 'equal pay for womenz' tagged at the end. Screwed I suppose is incredible, but not in a good way. The lyrics just feel like a logical extreme of the raciest early Prince songs, coming off as infantile rather than inspired. For all its savage feminist attitude the music is all so safe and housewife.

BlodwynPig

Yeh, I clicked off after 4 songs and am listening to Dieter Reith's Love and Fantasy

Golden E. Pump

Haven't heard it yet due to a cock-up with my salary but I'm a huge fan. 'Way You Make Me Feel' is excellent, if a little Prince-derivative.

But as you know, I'm into all things Prince-derivative.

Z

Quote from: Golden E. Pump on April 28, 2018, 11:44:05 PM
But as you know, I'm into all things Prince-derivative.
This was an issue with her last album too, wasn't it?

Just realised i heard Make Me Feel already, and yeah, it's like... I can just listen to Prince instead?
I think D'Angelo is the only one of those extremely indebted to Prince people I can listen to (and that's because he's better)

It's not even Prince-derivative, Prince actually worked on this album, reportedly coming up with the synth line in 'Make Me Feel'

Brundle-Fly

I like her stuff, not heard this new one. The last album worked much better live. The most out of place I've ever felt at a concert.

newbridge

"Make Me Feel" is solid.

"Pynk" is remarkably boring for a song that brings to mind the thought of Janelle Monae's labia or Janelle Monae admiring someone else's labia.

Haven't heard the rest yet, but I'm a big fan of her in general.

kittens

thought pynk was shyt. not heard anything else

kalowski

Quote from: newbridge on April 29, 2018, 04:13:01 PM
"Make Me Feel" is solid.

"Pynk" is remarkably boring for a song that brings to mind the thought of Janelle Monae's labia or Janelle Monae admiring someone else's labia.

Haven't heard the rest yet, but I'm a big fan of her genitals
FTFY

Howj Begg

"Pynk" and "I like that" both doing the job for me this afternoon. Fabulous tracks.

Nowhere Man

Make Me Feel is basically Kiss mixed with Controversy isn't it? Fuck, I miss Prince.

Something kind of surreal about seeing Brian Wilson listed as a featuring artist on a popular mainstream artist's new release in 2018.

Glebe

[tag]She's only doing it for the Monae (groan!).[/tag]

garbed_attic

It'd doubtlessly more mainstream... but, I think that makes sense when she is clearly hoping to communicate more directly with people. Besides, the nerdier aspects are still present and correct in the emotion picture! I think the singles are clearly the stand-out tracks, but that means they've been well selected.  I am a little sad there's nothing like 'Many Moons' or 'Cold War', but she wrote and released those a long time ago now - her style's changed. She still has as much poise as ever, but the production is more slick. Plus her rapping's seriously improved!

I do get some of the disappointment here - but like with John Maus' Screen Memories from last year, I think it's working on different terms. It's what happens when an artist has long gaps between albums.

Plus it's heartwarming to think how many queer kids in non-queer friendly places are going to find this a lifeline.

garbed_attic

#15
QuoteFor all its savage feminist attitude the music is all so safe and housewife

How does that make sense? Why can't pop music be feminist?

Golden E. Pump

Halfway through and I'm loving it so far. Punchier than her previous two efforts. 49 minutes too, which is the perfect length for an album.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: rue the polywhirl on April 28, 2018, 10:52:51 PM
For all its savage feminist attitude the music is all so safe and housewife.

Doing 'a Trojan Horse' is sometimes the best way to get a message across. You don't try and destroy a tank with a baseball bat, you piss on it every day until it rusts.

Sin Agog

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on May 02, 2018, 07:02:13 PM
Doing 'a Trojan Horse' is sometimes the best way to get a message across. You don't try and destroy a tank with a baseball bat, you piss on it every day until it rusts.

Neo-Soul fans are generally a pretty adventurous lot.  I mean, that Childish Gambino album did really well, got played all over the strip, and it's a cool, well-schooled thing.  And FKA Twigs seems to be doing great without rounding off the edges too much.  Not heard this yet, though.  Sounds a bit like it might evoke that bonus track on...The Archandroid I think, where she did the most mawkish cover of Smile, but other reviews are saying it's the kind of album that unfurls on ya, and it's hardly as bland as people will have you believe.  Will see.

BlodwynPig


Neomod

It's not radical in any way but I'm really enjoying it apart form the odd duffer. Hearing a bit of Anita Baker's Sweet Love on Don't Judge Me and Michael Jackson's Why in I Like That.

Which is a good thing.

I hope she actually made Brian sing Dirty Computer even if she didn't use it.

zomgmouse

I loved "Make Me Feel" and it's by far the standout on the album for me. "Screwed" was pretty electric as well, especially when the chorus hit; I got a great big jolt at the words "EVERYTHING IS SEX, EXCEPT SEX, WHICH IS POWER" as these issues have been rolling around my brain for a while. I also really enjoyed "Take a Byte" which seems to be an underrated track on here. The others I'll have to relisten to; there's definitely a much softer poppy vibe to this than the real funky beats she had going on earlier. While I prefer those overall there's still v much to dig.

BlodwynPig

I listened all the way through now and enjoyed it. A bit too much modern surmonising but catchy tunes and slick production. Take a Byte being my favourite.


Custard

Looking forward to hearing this later today. I think I'm alone in really liking her second album. Once you delete all the skits and weaker tracks, it's a banger. Dance Apocalyptic is just perfect pop. We Were Rock N Roll is great, too

She's great and very likeable, so hurrah for her and her work

zomgmouse

Relistening to "Pynk" it's giving me a lot of Goldfrapp vibes at the start. It's also growing on me as a track.