A Seat at the Table

I listened to this album about 3-4 years ago when i was a sophomore in college and I'm pleased it holds up dramatically. just great R&B/Neo-Soul.

Pretty mellow, down tempo beats that we alright, she's a great singer for sure but this album didn't do much for me.

Really good voice and there's a weirdness here that's hitting me just right. 4 stars

A beautiful R&B album with a great concept. The second half is unfortunately is not as strong as the first half though. Rating:7/10 Favorite Song: Mad

This is not one that I would ever have listened to had it not been for this list. And I don't think my life would have been any worse for not having heard this record. I mean, yes, she probably has a good voice but the production is just so overdone that it takes anything unique out and just makes it sound like every similar record of the time. I get so tired of this kind of production where it seems the goal is to just make the record sound like 'generic female R&B singer' from a software bundle. I think I picked out a real bass here and there, maybe a real guitar on one song, and horns that could either be real or not. Would she have been able to have this same album released to the same accolades were it not for her sister? I don't know. I would say no. But that might just be me. I do enjoy some of the lyrics and certainly the overall theme of the record. As for a rating, it's not my thing at all and is so generic and overproduced that it could be anyone with a half decent voice. 2.5/5 and will round down because there's now way this is a better record than that.

Not my usual thing but not bad

Maybe one or two ok but not for me

Solange – A Seat at the Table (2016) ★★★☆☆ — 5/10 This was my first experience listening to Solange, and while I enjoyed parts of the album, it ultimately became a bit of a chore to finish. The album starts out promisingly with some smooth R&B grooves, layered vocals, and tasteful production. "Cranes in the Sky" and "Mad" were the highlights for me, and early on I thought the album might be able to hold my attention if it offered enough musical variety. Unfortunately, that variety never really arrived. As the album progressed, the songs started sounding too similar, and the mellow atmosphere that initially appealed to me became increasingly monotonous. There aren't any truly terrible songs here. In fact, most of them fall somewhere between average and pretty good. But there's also nothing that really blew me away, and by the second half I was struggling to stay engaged. I can appreciate the production, the cohesive atmosphere, and what Solange was trying to accomplish. The spoken-word interludes also contribute to the album's overall concept. But musically, I needed more changes in energy, stronger hooks, or something unexpected to break up the sameness. 5/10 — ★★★☆☆. A respectable album with some enjoyable moments, but not one I see myself returning to very often.

2.5

This is pretty decent RnB album, don’t have much to say but it did sound good and gonna go a 3.5/5 Round down for now but could reach a 4

her best album

7/10 Buen album. Tranquilo y relajo, pero no aburrido

Breathy, stripped back neo soul with electro elements. Listen hard and you can hear a lineage with say TLC in here. Vocals are breathy, but not offensively so like FKA Twigs. Those electro elements in Weary put me in mind of Brian Eno's Golden Hour. Some interludes commenting on race etc. More jazzy in Mad. It's quite good. But listening while sleepy isn't a good idea. Easy to fall asleep to. Best track - Rise, Weary 3 stars - I enjoyed more than I expected.

This sound and style within the R&B/Soul genre are not for me.

High 3.75

Neo soul, funk, R&B.

Not bad but nothing particularly caught my attention. Infinitely better than anything her sister has ever done.

Ik schuif aan

2016 was op muzikaal gebied zo'n overdonderend jaar dat deze plaat destijds niet bij me geland is. Na wat enkele luistersessies bleven eigenlijk alleen de waanzinnige singles Cranes in the Sky en Don't Touch My Hair hangen. Bij nader inzien had ik het toch misschien iets meer een kans moeten geven. Ja, dit album heeft het probleem wat voor overgeproduceerde moderne albums hebben: het klinkt soms wat plasticy en er zijn veeeel te veel interludes en throwaway nummertjes die ze gewoon achterwege hadden moeten laten. MAAR: een aantal nummers (met name Don't Make Me Wait en FUBU) zijn geproduceerd en grotendeels ingespeeld door David Longstreth en die heeft zijn stempel op briljante wijze op dit album weten te drukken. Net als op de betere Dirty Projectors platen krijgen alle instrumenten super veel ruimte en weeft alles op schitterende wijze in elkaar. Echt heel tof. Dus? Ja, dit album heeft z'n problemen. Maar ook ja, het is beter dan 99% van de psychedelische rock-slop op deze lijst, dus 4 sterren.

Beautiful voice. Bravo

Very chilled and soulful, nothing shoved in your face nor overly produced. Felt genuine and honest.

Well, is guess she is Beyonce's sister and all.

Beautiful R&B about black identity, reflective of a culture in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement

She has a fantastic voice and the story telling in the albums is really good.

Hermanita de Beyonce. Fui saltando las canciones porque todas suenan igual. Una bronca

Good vocals and enjoyed some of the songs

All kind of similar sounds and made me a little tired to be honest

Ruined my morning drive to work. It’s just so boring.

There is real beauty and importance to this record and the seat is grabbed, no resistance from me. I just think it does feel a bit too a like to truly be perfect, I do not need all of it, but the note that it does hit rings true.

Radio pop... supposedly this album is exceptional, but I don't get it. Sounds like pretty typical R&B that would go on in the background nicely. Lil Wayne showing up was a choice... It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I also don't understand what makes this album special. It's slow and kind of dreamy in ways, but I don't find anything standing out.

Extraño, no me gustó...

its ok

Soulful and powerfu

Not as bad as i thought it would be

It’s not the best I’ve ever heard. It’s not the worst I’ve ever heard. The register of her voice is a bit high and seems forced to me and all of the interludes of what seem to be voicemails from her father can probably be cut also.

First track was annoying and the entire album was a slog

One of those gems, you find forget about and then go back to.

Although beautiful at some points, it was a boring experience overall. A personal highlight for me was actually the track Junie, mainly the chorus (Andre 3000).

Started off enjoying it and then went off it in the end

The overall messaging was good and interesting, but the music itself was just sorta nice, nothing wrong with it but nothing that really stood out.

I do not care for this style of music at all. No saving it for me. Just not good.

rym 3.65 Neo-Soul/Progressive Soul 这位竟然是byonce的妹妹，看来音乐才华确实有基因作用。整体上非常悦耳且不无聊，同时有着一股不屈服与任何人的韧劲。十分擅长用鼓点挑动情绪，再用钢琴或歌声与之应和。 pick: Mad, Where Do We Go, Don't Wish Me Well

I liked the first half a lot but it really faded down the stretch

Ugh. Interludes. I didn't look at the track listing beforehand, but as soon as I heard the monotone skit delivery, I knew Solange had fallen for the same terrible music decision that most of hip-hop falls for. (Seriously – if there's nothing musically interesting in those 17 seconds, why not just cut it out of the final LP? Or better yet, don't record it at all?) 8 of the 21 tracks are interludes (10 if you include the 42-second final track). Most are unnecessary. Lots of decent tracks here, but an unforgivably large volume of wasted time. Immediately, I'm captivated by the vocal harmonies. 21st-century inclusions on this list tend to have "layered but not actually musically convincing" harmonising, so a song like Rise was a nice subversion of expectations. Weary also combines this with some really entertaining synthwork and basswork. The synths in particular are a joy to listen to (whereas the bass mainly repeats two chord arpeggios). A super compelling, soft, almost alien atmosphere that proves very hard to describe but is an easy early-album highlight. After the interlude, we hit Solange's biggest hit – which is very good, except now we regress slightly toward that overharmonised state I was worried about earlier. Particularly at the end, with all those overlapping vocal lines... it just sounds excessive and not musically informed. Hard to explain. Still, the remaining song elements are great. The Dad Was Mad interlude has some pretty entertaining piano, plus it segues nicely into Mad, so I give it a pass. And Mad comes in seamlessly with that slow, bass-heavy beat and that delicate lead vocal. I really enjoy it. In contrast, Don't You Wait is just kind of... uninteresting, I guess. And that almost brutalist synth-percussion doesn't do the song any favours. While I appreciate the sentiment of Tina Taught Me, in the end it's just another musically weak interlude. And I can't help but feel that the critical race theory stuff, for the target audience, will go in through one ear and out the other. The 90s were a more effective time for hip-hop to do, well, hip-hop stuff. I enjoy the "What you say to me?" refrain of Don't Touch My Hair. But the goofy line "You know this hair is my shit" singlehandedly counterbalances it. We hit yet another interlude in This Moment, where the big-band-esque brass easily justifies the conclusion. Just ignore the vocals, kick back, and be entertained by those trumpets. Where Do We Go is really weird. The texture is very thin barring the drums, but the drums are mixed in a way that leaves a solid half-beat of silence for each (half-)beat of percussive noise. So the whole thing feels kind of... disjointed, maybe? I like the piano, though. Reminds me of Bennie And The Jets. After the barren interlude For Us By Us, we at least get a smooth transition into F.U.B.U., an extremely slickly produced tune that does what Where Do We Go tried to go, but slightly better. Really good melody, catchy chorus, and a disorienting rhythm that keeps you on your toes. I enjoy Borderline but it does include that overcompensatory vocal harmony thing that R&B music is so obsessed with. (It doesn't surprise me at all that Beyoncé is Solange's older sister. Both artists commit pretty similar musical sins.) The last seven tracks alternate between interludes (empty, inconsequential) and actual songs. Of the latter, only two are strong: Junie with its infectious positivity, and Scales with a beautiful, emotive vocal delivery. Don't Wish Me Well has an ultra-clean hip-hop-standard beat, and ultimately is just too predictable and repetitive to really get off the ground. 2/5 Key tracks: Weary, Interlude: This Moment, F.U.B.U.

Honestly one of the best pieces of art from the 2010’s

This was nice and liked the spoken word inserts. It felt retro soul but also modern R&B at the same time.

she is really, really, not as talented as her sister -- and she aims to prove it.

I’m certainly not the target demographic for this album, so not that surprising that I didn’t really connect with it. It’s not terrible by any means, but it’s just not something that grabbed me.

Very quiet and not much.

I liked this one. Lots of interesting samples, the black power message was well put without being hamfisted, music was easy to listen to. Commendable

This album shifted in and out of my taste all throughout it's entire runtime, but I just don't think anything really stuck for me overall. One thing I'd like to point off now is that there are too many interludes, I am sorry but if you album "needs" more then 3 interludes then just mesh them into your songs and stop fluffing the tracklist. I felt super disconnected during the middle of this album and it really hindered my listening experience as so many different sounds (and interludes) were flowing through me but barely anything stuck out. Every now and then a song will grab me with it's weird sound or instrument like Junie with it's wavey synths. I am sure Solange is a very talented artist and full of other songs I will enjoy but this project was more of a miss then a hit for me.

This was great. Reminded me of Lauryn Hill!

it's alright background music, quite basic

Nothing special

I'd not heard of Solange, wasn't aware of this album notwithstanding #1 in US. Anyway I have a listen, It was very low impact for me. No standout vocal melodies, backing tracks not gripping for me. I wondered if Cranes in the Sky would be more impactful if I watched the video - opened with a series of snaps showing off many different glamorous costumes?? So there may be some meaningful messages in there somewhere but for me the surface looks like USAvian luxury - not backed up by music that grabs me. For me, it's Not Good, 4/10.

Bored

What a boring album, the same beat the whole way through with Solange warbling over it. Another I question why its on the list? Appreciate it may have 'important' lyrics, but I can barely parse them through solange's articulation; she lets the ends of sentences just float off.

Sonically dull and one note. More of a TedTalk than an album. Rating: 1.5

De muziek is geweldig, maar ik hou niet van dat gemurmel tussen de nummers door

nu when i get home nog

2010s soul pop. Floaty and ethereal. Relaxing, pleasant album with some interesting turns.

Good album but I don’t think I’ll listen to it again much

Too deep in the R&B vibe. Smooth and proud. Listenable, but not something I'll come back to.

Important messages contained within the interludes of this album. They were my favourite part, regrettably. The musical elements were not to my taste, unfortunately. This type of R&B does nothing for me other than persuading me to nod off. Actually that’s quite a useful tool. 2/5

La moindre petite idée est transformée en musique unique, ce qui donne un album à la fois diarrhéique et vite ennuyeux. Symptomatique de son genre et son époque.

Vraiment aucun intérêt, même en musique de fond on peut trouver mieux.

Could have been a four, cause the music is really great, but the interludes are tiresome and it's overall a bit too long.

better than anything beyoncé's ever done

It's obvious she only got her recording contract because she's Beyonce's sister. Her voice is good, and the album is recorded and produced well, but the songs are just boring. Not for me, dawg.

Hey those are some beautiful son—DIDACTIC INTERLUDE ALERT! DIDACTIC INTERLUDE !DIDACTIC INTERLUDE ALERT!DIDACTIC DIDACTIC INTERLUDE ALERT! INTERLUDE INTERLUDE INTERLUDE DIDACTIC INTERLUDE ALERT!!!!!

I think this is better than I thought it was when I first listened to it when it came out. But still not great.

I imagine Pitchfork writers sit around listening to this drinking Matcha. All nodding at each other, pretending they’re really enjoying it, but actually Matcha is just a bit shit isn’t it.

This album has such a sameish quality that all the tracks blend into one another. The message gets lost and the music started to take on a turgid quality. I was over this album half way through. I endured to the end. I'm not listening again.

A little on the long side. BUT it wasn't too repetitive where that was a problem. No it was fairly varied to keep me interested enough that I would say I ended up liking it.

Some nice songs. Overall, not exactly my vibe.

Hm. My first impression with this album, and Solange, is that I had no idea why the project editors chose this artist or album. It took me about halfway through the Wikipedia entry to realize that Solange is Beyonce's sister, which at least explained why Solange was included in the collection. But while I know it was a popular album, I must admit I didn't find anything particularly distinctive or compelling on it, and the interplay of interview-style "interludes" and very slow/mellow/soul tracks reminded me of previous albums in this collection, especially Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun". Fine, and kind of a weird experience of feeling like you're hearing music played underwater, but not really all that interesting to me.

If you like high-pitched whisper singing about Black identity, Black power, Black history, Black hair, Black women, Blackity Black Black Black, have I got the album for you. Located at the intersection of Bjork and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, A Seat at the Table has everything...

Very polished result but the content is still rudimentary.

no notes

Probably a top 100 all time for me. A beautiful, introspective, melodic masterpiece.

Cranes in the sky

Solange is an incredible vocalist and is delivering an important message here and is highlighting hypocrisy. Ultimately not to my taste musically and the production is very average for this type of R&B record. 3/5

This is a chameleon that had me wondering is this background or foreground? The whispery swoosh almost lulls, but it’s off-kilter, has some daring fluorishes and its politics relentlessly nibble through the silky production. Maybe the first album on here that has lived up to - for me - the promises of avant garde I’ve heard touted around neo soul. That “Cranes in the Sky” standing out so prominently perhaps suggests too much texture in place of song, but what texture!

This started out quite well, bright and melodious. Dragged on a bit, not helped by the interminably-glib "Interludes", eventually trending to a predictable level of nepo baby multiplayer R&B. Meh, a bit better than her sister.

Yawn.

The many vocal oohs and aahs made my mind wander away from trying to keep parsing meaning in what she was singing. Luckily the interludes are spoken clearly and unsurprisingly, from a person with the same background, the politics are the same. Glitz and glamour if you just work harder than anyone else, just keep grinding, practice that self care so you can keep grinding, outta here with that shit. Boring and disingenuous.

Nepobaby sin talento.

Álbum que no creo q nunca vaya a volver a escuchar. No es mi estilo, para nada. Está bien igual, no duele escucharlo, pero el comentario de q solo está acá porq es la hermana de Beyonce jaja.

Muy buenas letras, linda voz, lindo todo. Se me hizo repetitivo por momentos, no es entretenido. Es para tener de fondo quizás. Me gustó pero no me termina de encantar.

I like this better than most R&B. By which I mean it's fine.

This sounds like the kind of album someone produces who is only in the studio because their sister is a cultural phenomenon (and one of my favorite Altos), the lyrics to this album are also pretty racist

Liked this, gorgeous voice and fairly lofi tunes

I really love how unapologetically Black Feminist this record is.

Ok 2/5

Woooooow 😳🤯 Excellent. This is what I’m doing this challenge for, to find albums like this. Immediately added to my library and it’s going to get so much replay.

This definitely has too many interludes. It slows down the pace of the album every time it gets going again. The actual songs themselves are alright, but a bit generic for the genre.

Easy to listen and appreciate. Warm and deep. Can go back to it when need something to comfort me.

Because I'm black like that! I love this Album ititss a classic as well as a symbol of black expression and pride. Love Solange

I liked it, pretty chill

Very beautiful