If Rihanna gets a thread, Amerie gets a fucking thread. I enjoy her latest album, Because I Love It, quite a bit. I've been forming a big-ass post about it, but then realized that it was probably just too much, not knowing if there's even a single person interested 'round here. So let me boil it down:
* The tracks that throw back to previous material (read: the retro pop-soul stuff on Touch) are stronger than before. Two songs much tighter and more effective than before in Gotta Work and the Intro, two breathier, less assaulting ones in Make Me Believe and Hate2LoveU.
* Unfortunately, an only average single in Take Control. A cliché beat that's too loose for the main hook (already dangerously loose itself); a shit sentiment (utter submissiveness. See below).
* Amerie reveals herself to be a bit of a nerd; three 80s'ish tracks are all about an almost teenage sense of wonder at love. Beautifully fresh and enjoyable, proper Summer tunes. Great use of her voice as something other than a raspy, rushing weapon.
* All ballads to be ignored - the album ends at That's What U R, a nice enough thumping sex number. In my mind. The album ending there, not the thumping sex number. Errm.
* A potentially dangerous antagonizing dichotomy between self-realization and love, maybe, when the recurrent images of love as taking away control are related to the one main song about Self and ambition, in which she ironically sings "Show me somebody with no control", skeptically. Possibly complicated by the fact that she's a woman; possibly relatable to how her only mild success when taking in consideration (what seem to me) prevalent attitudes of self-affirmation.
* What do you think?
May put up yousendit's if they're of interest. |
