Take Me Apart

The production is lauded as being cutting edge and innovative, but this is from 2017 so I don't really understand why. If this was from 2007 I might be slightly more impressed. Perfect for mid-range clothing retailers who want music to make them appear hip while blending smoothly into the background.

Every track sounds exactly like the track before it. It's not bad, exactly. It's just like ... I already heard that. I don't need to hear it again, thank you.

I’ve been to enough pitchfork music festivals (two, in 2009 and 2010, when the website was slightly less of a joke than it is today, *slightly*) to know a “Best New Album” when I hear it. Sometime during the second track, I thought to myself, “Pitchfork gave this Best New Music, didn’t they.” Since I was driving at the time, I couldn’t verify it on the spot, but once I got home, I did. Lo and behold, my suspicions were correct. This record was given Best New Album status over at Pitchfork. In fact, all of Kelela’s records have received that honor to date, which is no small feat. If only there was a way for me to monetize this useless skill of mine. Maybe I could go to bars and bet people that I can tell if a album got Pitchfork’s highest praise. They’d play me a song from a record and I’d say yes or no, like a parlor trick for aging hipsters. I think I could probably do pretty well at it, like as a side hustle, but at best, the audience for that type of bet is small. As usual, I digress. My point is, if your tastes typically align with Pitchfork’s, you’ll probably enjoy this record. It might be the Pitchforkiest record I’ve been assigned so far - sort of a retro-futuristic take on r&b with glitchy percussion and a healthy portion of synth pads. Experimental enough to not be totally mainstream, but mainstream enough not to alienate people who might usually be put off by experimental music - the Radiohead paradox.

I tried to give this album my attention and absolutely could not. The sound was pleasant and I enjoyed the lyrics when I could focus on them but, without intense consentration, I would immediately drift off and be two more very similar sounding songs into the record. It is probably great and, if I get my hands on some adderall to keep me engaged, maybe someday I will fond out.

This is obviously a fairly recent addition to the mix, as the album is only from 2017 and has very few reviews. Is it an album I need to hear before I die? Absolutely not. I could have gone my whole life never knowing about Kelela and never been the worse for it. But I'm giving it a change here. Production is solid but musically the album doesn't stand out much. It's a bit samey and overly long and would have benefited from getting rid of a few tracks. Kelela has a nice enough voice, but it's over-tuned, like a lot of vocals of recent years. The album overall feels a little throwback, like I'm listening to 1990s R&B. Strong influence of Velvet Rope era Janet is evident. I'm not really hearing the supposed futurist vibe of the music, at least not anything that many other artists haven't done before her. Maybe it just isn't my genre. Fave songs: Turn to Dust, Enough, Bluff

I really struggled with what to give this one- over two listens it was cartwheeling between two and four stars. Contemporary R&B isn't in my wheelhouse so it was difficult to work out what I was looking for, and if I was enjoying it. One thing that grabbed me straight away was the lush production. Drums are subtle, high-pass filtered, underwater. Layers of ambience (waves, a car unlocking and driving off, vocalisations) never feel overdone. Kelela's vocals shimmer and ripple, layered to stunning effect across many of the songs. On a second listen I started to appreciate all of this much more. There are many brilliant sonic touches to spend more time with, and even before paying attention to the lyrics I blushed at the sensuality of it all like the prudish white boy I am. This is a very subtle album and didn't hit immediately, but there's a lot that hooked and intrigued me, making me very likely to spend more time "taking it apart". For that reason, I'm giving the benefit of foresight with four stars.

despite the incredible production, i found the vocals to be generic and bland.

Et allez, c'était évident que la communauté de ce générateur était complètement demeurée. Moi je mets 5 sur 5 et je vous vois venir les fans de post punk métal de mes couilles avec vos clébards pleins de boue et vos goûts musicaux dégueulasses. Sachez que vous êtes dans l'erreur, et plus généralement dans la saleté, dans l'insalubrité.

I really enjoyed this album. I'm a huge R&B fan, but not usually into electronic music. I don't really know what I was expecting but I was into it. It has the right amount of smooth R&B and the right amount of electronica for most tracks. My highlights from the album were Frontline, Waitin, Jupiter, Better, Bluff and Altadena.

What a slog. So much of it sounds alike and I was bored to tears. I don't get why it's here. It doesn't seem like there's anything really remarkable here. She isn't a terrible singer and the production is good, but I was begging for it to end by track 3.

an average modern R&B album. The production is nice

Surprised me this one, a really lovely, soulful listen.

First of all, the video for Frontline is worth the price of admission right there. I forget about videos nowadays, but there are still good ones. This one is unique and of course accompanied with a cool song. Ok, this is the most modern album I've been given yet. I've never heard of Kelela, and I am pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Black, solo female R&B is not usually my go-to music genre, but it's mostly because I just don't have exposure. I think Kelela is a force! Her beats are so complex, especially with headphones. She knows how beautiful she is, and she exploits it in the dreamy, fantasy sensibility she sells with her lyrics, but her music is timeless. There is a tremendous mix of instrumentation going on. On one hand, there's that mellow Mariah Carey sound that calls back to the 90s/early 2000s, but then she layers on so much more that makes it sound like new music but also classic. Pretty hard to tail. Waitin' is a song that embodies what I'm saying perfeclty. Right now, she is focused on that youth, attraction, love, breakups, identity, which is as relatable as things can get. I'm excited to see where her style goes as she grows. There's a bit of a lull in the middle of the album when you hit Enough, Jupiter, and Better. But there's some really cool sounds in those sounds too and some optimism that is nice to hear about how life has beauty everywhere. Things get back on track with LMK though. I feel cooler having listened to her.

Mostly harmless

this is shit. the singing never fit with the backing track. every track was like she put on some music in the background and then just warbled around on top with no concern for what the track was doing.

Fantastic R&B album. Love the influences of other genres on the music, fun to listen to

Perfect and innovative RnB. Still sounds very fresh 5 years later. A favorite of mine.

No. 188/1001 Frontline 4/5 Waitin 4/5 Take Me Apart 4/5 Enough 4/5 Jupiter 3/5 Better 4/5 LMK 4/5 Truth or Dare 3/5 S.O.S. 3/5 Blue Light 4/5 Onanon 4/5 Turn To Dust 4/5 Bluff 4/5 Altadena 4/5 Average: 3,79 Thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Generic. Nothing special.

They should wait at least 10 years before putting new albums on this list.

So “Take Me Apart” by Kelela was fairly well-done, and I appreciate the fact that she didn’t talk much about “da club”, or how she was going to be “spitting fire” with her lyrics… I also think she is a fine vocalist, and was easy to listen to… That said, if there hadn’t been the song title changes as I listened on TIDAL – I would not have known, as it really did sound like one, big, long connected song… Like I said, it was well-executed – she does have a unique voice, and I like the electronica/R&B futuristic blend to her sound HOWEVER, there was almost no diversity to be found on this album – anywhere, as all the songs sounded like clones of each other… If I had to choose 1 song that was a bit better/different from the others, I’d probably choose “Onanon”, but not much more than that… Definitely a 2, but not much more in my book…

This album sounds like 100 other R&B albums. Very meh.

The music was too empty.

This is fantastic! Had not heard of the artist or heard her music. Great writing, outstanding performances...she's got it. Very, very cool sound.

MOTHER

Beautiful songwriting, vocal performance and production! This shows that there are still ways of being experimental without losing track of form, and that RnB and Electronica can provide sublime musical beauty.

Wow this is a sexy, glittering, ethereal album. The soundscapes are very open, eno inspired synth atmospheres.

one of my all-time favorites

Incredible, cannot believe I have never heard of this or her

Loved this! I'm old, but I really liked the late 2010s sound, that kind of dark synth influenced by that OneOhTrix guy. But her voice adds another layer.

Wow this one actually blew me away on first listen when I wasn't expecting that much. I had never heard of Kelela besides her feature on "A Seat at the Table" by Solange only realizing she was featured on it in the middle of listening. I don't think this album is perfect but it's the most I've felt while listening to an album in a long long time, first time I've felt this way to an album during these 1001 listens. The vocals, the production, the lyrics, the vocals, the vocals, and the VOCALS on this are all in credible and I cannot recommend enough. Favorite Tracks: Frontline, Take Me Apart, Enough, Jupiter, Better, LMK, Blue Light, Onanon, Bluff, Altadena

LOVE

Damn good

This album is pretty damn fantastic.

Yes

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that every album by a black woman that hasn't been formally inducted into the """canon""" gets poor reviews on this site

The production is godlike

Great. Did not think it would be this good. But it genuinely is very good.

I really jammed with this back when it was released, especially "LMK," which I definitely thought needed to a bigger hit than it was. Still think it's great, a very immersive album with some interesting sonic ideas.

Always a great day to get an album you know nothing about and being pleasently surprised. The production on this album is insane. No wonder it got put on the list. And the album just has bangers after bangers, though it's slightly too long but that's just a nitpick

this is genuinely one of the best albums ive ever heard

Like I'm in the sexiest strip club and the stripper loves me, for real this time!!

More people should be talking about Kelela. It’s rare these days to find a debut so melodically rich and self-assured.

This is a great album, it is modern and has a lot of interesting sounds and lyrics. The right combination of electronic music and a kinda pop style of singing

This was good never heard of kelela before

Really enjoyed her sound! Will listen to again

My main complaint with soul is that it's often one dimensional and needs to be fused with other styles. Kelela does that very well with a unique fusion with electronic. I still have some challenges keeping interested since the tempo especially during the versus remains homogeneous. But it's a good attempt to solve my problem so it gets +1. Cover photo doesn't do any harm either.

un peu de sweet rnb pour ne pas penser au fait que je fais des tests unitaires

cool slightly experimental r&b album will have to listen again

Now this surprised me more than I thought it would. First of all, very impressive voice. But the song arrangements were also very well thought out and instrumentally interesting! To be honest, I was expecting kind of another cookiecutter female rap performer on top of generic beats and music passages. But this was something else! 8 out of 10

Smooth and sexy

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Frontline, Onanon

Sounds kinda old and kinda new at the same time. Kelela has a great voice which sounds mercifully natural for an album recorded in the last decade. Stylistically the album doesn't fit well in any category. You can imagine these songs getting remixed into any number of electronic genres. For my tastes I think I would like to see the material contorted even further into rougher electronic versions but I understand why the choices were made to let Kelela's songs retain their origins in R&B.

This was a slow burn for me. I didn’t care for the start but the back half is smooth.

I'm just starting my 1001 journey and up till now I have felt the bar has been set very low. For me, I wouldn't expect your standard meat and three veg to be good enough to make the list. I'm looking for something that stands out. For the most part this album deserves to be on the list, and is an album I would buy. I will certainly be checking out Kelela's other albums.

Never heard of this artist, but surprisingly good. An urban Lilith Fair participant.

This certainly caught me by surprise. Having no context for who Kelala is her voice just shines bright through the whole album. Fave track: Take Me Apart. Certainly worth another listen.

Finally some contemporary stuff! And it's an album I'm quite familiar with. Love this one and jammed it a lot when it came out. "Frontline" is still probably my favorite song by her.

Je n'ai pas le temps de m'attarder sur cette review mais je vous présente à tous mes salutations distinguées.

man I love how different and varied she is! great vocals and the song production is great. the genre itself is outside my usual, but it kinda reminds me a little of Krewella but more soulful

This was a nice R&B. I could pick up where Kelela found her inspiration in many songs. All in all, it was very enjoyable.

Three listens, liked it more each time. Sweet voice, cool groove, nice.

canta muito

Braba gostar

Had never heard of the artist and was really impressed with the album throughout.

Fine R&B album. Not usually my thing, but I definitely didn't hate this.

This one honestly surprised me. Production on it was fantastic, not really one for R&B but this came off kinda synthwave like? Cool album.

Beautiful voice. 4.5

Hmmmm, kinda the same ballpark as FKA Twigs, but I think Kelela suffers in that comparison. Or it might just be that I'm a lot more familiar with FKA Twigs... 🤔 Pleasant enough - I think it might benefit from a listen with good headphones to catch all the electronic stuff going on. Fave tracks - "Waitin" and "Onanon"

first listen definitely unique

Mjög smúþ, kósí, góð rödd.

While it is not my preferred genre, there was no song on the album that I disliked. 3 - 4/5, still in doubt 3/5 as I will probably not play this album again afterwards 4/5 as it succeeded in selling me a genre I'm not a fan of

I'm not sure entirely what to make of the ambient-inflected R&B of Take Me Apart. The vocals are especially syrupy, but even Arca's production stays in the background, low-key but lush. But Enough was gorgeous enough and the sequencing of long and short tracks engaging enough I don't really care where it sits in a more informed listener's canon. It works as a measuring stick for me.

🥺🥺🥺🤧🤧🤧💖💖💖

Listened to a few songs. Liked it a lot. Put in favs

Interesting and avant-garde. Not something I would usually listen to.

Had never heard of this artist, and this album was a pleasant surprise. A couple bad tracks, but some great work overall.

Remember this coming out and being an album you could slap on and listen front to back. It still has that quality. The production is subtle, then bombastic and then simple again creating this dubby space for Kelela's sweet little voice to fill. Lyrically it could be more complex, but then again this is a RNB album and not a PHD. Very solid four. Recommend her most recent album too.

Oh I'll take you apart Kelela.

A funky and beautiful piece of r&b. Kelela is full-voiced and sounds pitch perfect with every thumping track. Amazing production guides this one to a satisfying finish line.

Really surprising R&B piece. Had not heard it before, but very happy with it. I think it is missing a little something to pump it up for me though.

Really good album. Has a great sound.

best way to describe this is lush; from the electic selection of beats, production choices, and vocal performance. best tracks: frontline, lmk, take me apart

271223 12:39 4

Delightfully futuristic R'n'B, with great vocals. This is a few duller tracks away from a strong 5 stars.

sultry…sexy…smooth 😩😎kinda long doe

Mislila sam da ce mi se svidit po coveru i po tom što piše RnB. I je. I to jako. Produkcija je top notch.

I struggled with this album a bit. It sounds fine, both the music and the vocal are good and they blend well together. Listening to this album without context, I felt that it was a bit generic. Not bad at all, but it didn't sound particularly revolutionary for 2017. The Wikipedia entry shed a little more light on it, noting it's fusion of R&B and EDM, as well as other musical styles. I feel like EDM has been a part of R&B for a long time, but I don't know enough about the genre to say that definitively. In the end, I like this album, but I don't know that it's super groundbreaking. I think that the years since its release have altered my perception of it. At the same time, this album was released after FKA Twig's EP, which was much more experiemental in terms of electronic music in R&B. In the end I think it's good enough to give 4/5, but it's definitely close to 3/5 4/5

People are mean about this album, but I like it well enough. Good background music for getting my work done.

This is pretty far removed from what I usually listen to, but I very much enjoyed it for background listening at work. In terms of expanding my understanding and appreciation of different styles of music, this one was definitely a success. Also, this is surely the sexiest album cover we've had so far.

Really liked this one - can’t believe I’d not heard of her before!

Pretty cool stuff, I'm not usually TOO into R&B, but the production here is interesting enough to keep my attention, and she's got a great voice. Gonna try to come back to this and check out her other music soon. Gonna give this the ol' 3.75 rounded up because my initial feeling is that I like this more than a lot of my other 3s lol.

So excited they included this album. I found it in the new section back when it came out in 2017, gave it a try, and was blown away with the first song in how good it was. Kicks off the album in a perfect way. The rest of the songs are a great blend of interesting beats both slow and thoughtful. It's been raining to day and I listened to this by the window as it rained and it was a perfect soundtrack.

I really enjoyed the electronic R&B vibe and Kelela's soulful voice. Better and Blue Light stand out for me. The music blends together a bit, but it seems like great background music that you can play over and over.

Ambient electronic RnB isn't usually my cup of tea, but loved this. Perhaps because that my cortisol levels are off the chart at the moment. Whatever the reason, this record is chilled, melodic and innovative. It's super relaxing yet also engaging. The perfect delivery of it's artistic vision. Rating: 5/5 Playlist track: LMK Date listened: 07/03/23

What a great album! Certainly a breath of fresh air--- "LMK," "Onanon," "Blue Light" and "Frontline" are probably my favorite tracks on here.

7/10 the production was very nice I liked how they were always trying to keep things interesting not a huge fan of this genre, but it’s still very nice

A 2017 album supposedly in top 1001 ever made & i've never heard of it? Oh no, not more dull R&B. So I thought at first. But I listened & listened again. Big electronic/cross genre. It's really very good & well produced.

Pretty good, reminded me a lot of that Solange album on this list. 7/10

Solid modern soul