Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Taylor's Choice:

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Hipster Review:

I remember reading about Janelle Monae in Spin magazine (back when I wasted my time reading magazines) a few years back. The piece consisted of her talking about art and the impact that it had made on her throughout her life. She also stated her belief that music was an art form with the potential "to change the world". While this usually is a generally pretentious statement made by musicians to show off, listening to Monae's music reveals that she means it when she says it. Her music is expansive, (other)worldly, risky, and celebratory. She pushes musical boundaries not simply because she can, but because she aims to push herself and to allow her music to reach as many people as possible. She might succeed too: the music on ArchAndroid goes left and right, taking influence from funk, soul, classical music, swing, folk, art rock, and hip-hop to make a unique blend of pop music so dense, it makes a rock look like sponge cake. But unlike some high-shooter projects that go for quantity rather than quality, The ArchAndroid benefits from Monae's ability to limit her ideas and stop when she needs to (granted, the album is nearly 70 minutes long, but only three songs go past the four-minute mark, and very few of them drag). The guest appearances by Big Boi and Of Montreal are some of the album's high points, particularly the single "Tightrope," where Monae's funky side shows best. Overall, The ArchAndroid is an ambitious, messy (in a good way), and incredibly exciting album. Experience it at your own caution - but don't let it stop you from enjoying it.

Hipster Rating:

8.7

Friend Review:

Alright, so Janelle Monae (I’m just gonna type her name normally without that goofy accent over the “a” because those things are a pain to put in and you guys know what I mean)is another act I haven’t really heard of but I gave it a listen and like always came up with some opinions. I’ll go ahead and start with the high points. Two tracks, “Cold War” and “Tightrope” are very enjoyable to listen to. The fast tempos and Monae’s impressive vocals keep the listener interested throughout the entire song. Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, these two tracks would be very fun to drum along to because they offer many chances for experimentation. Then there is “Come Alive (The War of the Roses)”. This track is an absolute gem. The instrumentation is just about perfect, one of the grooviest bass lines I’ve ever heard and jazzy drums create one spicy tamale to dance along to. The shrieking guitars intertwining with Monae’s passion-filled screams is in all honesty one of the best tracks I’ve heard all year. While these three are very impressive tracks, they do not make up for the slower parts of the album. First off, at a running time of an hour and eight minutes, the album is about twenty minutes too long. I could do without the two overtures which I think would be more appropriate in a Star Wars soundtrack. Maybe they’re necessary for the “album structure”, but whatever, I didn’t dig them. Anytime Monae feels like slowing things down a bit it drags on far too long and gets boring very quickly. The vocal distortion or tuning or whatever the crap is going on in “Mushrooms & Roses” is absolutely painful to listen to. The few good songs on this album don’t make up for the long boring parts.

Friend Rating:

5.5

Coming up on next, Champ by Tokyo Police Club!