The refrain and chorus give me Queen teas though, not really sure why but it feels oddly reminiscent. I've gotta be honest, while it's surely fitting with the concept, I really don't appreciate the processing of Janelle's voice in this track. It's mellow, it's middling and it feels like a track of reflection. As such, Mushroom & Roses feels like an appropriate "wrap up" of Suite II of The ArchAndroid. I've heard that this album should be approached as two separate parts. This is the first time I was like "what the fuck are you doing" throughout the alberm. She sounds like her voice is breaking or something. The "screaming" towards the middle of the track was a bit off putting though if I have to be honest, and brings this track down a star. The choral parts between the bridge and such is just fantastic. Her voice is sultry and gets a little bit rough to add a bit of edge to the track. It's nice to see Janelle not relying on electronics (too much) to craft her music. The ending of this track made me think we were being transported to another "realm" for another track of a different tone.ĪND I WAS RIGHT, Come Alive (The War of the Roses) is a cool kind of "swing" track that combines some really deep strings with some great guitar. The sombre verses help the song bop along at an appropriate pace too. As she has previously, this song shifts between genres mid way and begins to sound like a 00's RnB track. She knows her range and sticks to it appropriately. Despite being slower and not usually my thing, Janelles (quite frankly beautiful) voice really makes this track more appealing. The interlude makes sense too, as Oh, Maker is a very drastic change of direction from everything we've heard thus far. It's simple but it's a nice "interlude" of sorts. This eventually blends into this kind of synthy electro rock noise cloud that then slowly recedes and takes you into the next track. Reminds me of all those conspiracy websites that play songs backwards and pretend that the person who singing actually has embedded a SEKRIT MESSUDGE (YVAN EHT NIOJ). Neon Gumbo begins with some trippy production. She's versatile and I enjoy her versatility. Just a perfect representation of Janelle's ability to move betwee genres, tones and pacing throughout the course of one album. This song is just a perfect bop, her voice is beautiful and the chorus is just so catchy. I felt like they tried to make these tracks flow on from one another but it felt a bit poorly done. Tightrope is almost on par with Cold War, but I love Cold War too. I absolutely love this song, but hate the video A fantastic choice for single, and potentially one of my standouts from this track. The production and her vocals are just everything. I enjoy the sombre mood.Ĭold War is just a beautiful track.
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Anyway, about this song - it's a dramatic pullback from the fast and over the top nature of the three (proper) tracks. I am assuming this is intentional - which also begs the question, are the first four tracks meant to be considered one body of work? The structure of this album is thematically and conceptually quite interesting. Upon instantly hearing this, I heard elements of Cold War embedded in the track. Sir Greendown was the first song that didn't actually fade into the others. The guitar breakdown during the bridge saved this one from being a complete disaster for me.
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The harmonising is cute though and a nice throwback to a retro style of music. Some parts of her vocals sound like a basic Beyonce and it really irks me. This is probably, at least thus far, my least favourite track from Suite II. Locked Inside is a definitive shift in tone, tempo and pacing for the album. Dick novel and of course, the album title) and kryptonite. It's petty too, but I like the references to Electric Sheep (as per the Phillip K. It's good, but it's a strange and abrupt switch between the tracks. I like the beat and the production of this track, but it really doesn't grab me as much as the epic opening of the Suite II Overture or the rather bitter sounding Dance or Die. The production is great too, giving the track and futuristic theme (which I guess fits with the album's concept.)įaster follows on from Dance or Die (and seques very smoothly I might add, I didn't realise we even stepped into a new song.) This is another upbeat song in similar vein to Dance or Die, but sees Janelle take on a more relaxed tone and lay off the rap a little bit. It's bizarre how she kind of switches between these different tones throughout the whole song.
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It's electic, it's weird, it's unusual, and most importantly - I really like it. Janelle's vocals are just something else in this song. >_>ĭance or Die is a really bassy track that is unlike anything I've heard from Monae before (though to be fair I've only heard the singles). I guess it would work well as an opening to Fantasia or some other weird high concept Disney film. I'm not reviewing this because it's not a real track.