keepers-5
keeper avg-.333
Home base for this adventurous stylistic tour is the relatively conservative opening song triad, the hip hop "Dance Or Die", the urban swing of "Faster", and the 80's pop homage "Locked Inside", mastered so they bleed into one another as a single piece. After this "Cold War" nods to circa 1990 techno, while "Tightrope" is heavy on the bass drum. The album itself is subdivided into Suite II and Suite III, and seems to circle gradually outward until the latter part of Suite II. The sublime "Oh, Maker"***** seems to channel all the great songwriters, as well as showcasing Monae's mellower voice, while "Come Alive"**** takes urban-flavored swing to a ridiculous limit, the wildest Disney haunted house party imaginable, and showcases Monae's absurdly impressive vocal range at its showiest. The true masterpiece is the lush and stately "Mushrooms & Roses"*****, blending orchestral and psychedelic elements, and building to a glorious Purple Rain coda. Suite III may be even more adventurous than Suite II. "57821" is pastoral choral folk featuring Deep Cotton (I'm not familiar). While featuring Of Montreal on "Make The Bus" is an adventurous choice, hearing their precious electronic pop on their own records is quite enough me. Suite III also contains the Caribbean / Sade ballad "Say You'll Go"****, and a pop gem "Wondaland"****, heavy on the hooks as well as the studio magic.
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