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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Yes to the vocals. Yes to the lush soundscapes. Yes to the pretty melodies!!

Mostly harmless

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 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.

there's nothing i love more than a pop record drawing on the burgeoning electronic sound of the era. Ray of Light takes influence from german trance and trip hop, Speak for Yourself saw Imogen Heap managing to get Jeff Beck from the 70's to absolutely shred on a glitch pop track, and all i have to say is the word Vespertine for you to get the meaning. hell, even in the world of R&B, you see stuff like Transient and One Touch popping up, bringing a taste of the dancefloor to the world dominated by the Neptunes and Timbaland's less-EDM inspired (but no less forward thinking and off-the-wall) production styles. the dance music of today, however, sounds a lot different. and can seem scarier. the bass has no limit, and neither does the percussion. Take Me Apart feels like one of those aforementioned records, but for music too weird to really be considered something you can dance to. UK bass is a hard genre to pin down, and you could argue it's not even really a genre, serving more as a production style indebted to dubstep, future garage, and the ever invaluable wonky. hell, things like PC Music and the epic collage of Elysia Crampton probably at least take some inspiration from the netweirdos of the scene, a new digital sound pulsing like a feeling through your headphones rather than a set of samples and/or MIDI-controlled pianos. it sounds like the FUTURE, goddammit. to UK bass, the future is dark, sleek, and growling. Kelela wields these sounds with the utmost confidence, melding her voice into it in an almost ghostly manner, always hitting beautiful hooks or soaring highs with her voice, and sometimes dying down to a whisper, almost centimeters away from the microphone and the inside of your brain. for some reason, the sound of the future isn't sinister to me here as it would be on, say, Faith in Strangers or even In Colour. it's dark and sleek, sure, but it's like velvet or a rabbit's fur instead of a cold, unfeeling car or the motion smoothing on your uncle's new TV. i get the feeling that there is no theatrical routine of life maintained beneath the surface -- seemingly, there is life. but i'm not 100% sure. in a way, the title serves as instructions. "Take Me Apart". i will let you find out for yourself.

Wow I was not expecting to like this as much as I do, its pretty good. Im surprised ive never heard of kelela. On the sza album I said I don't really like r&b, thats a lie. Any generalization I make about my feeling on a genre is a lie-- I think I just like music. glad this is on the list.

Yes

This album is pretty damn fantastic.

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

MOTHER

7/10 - There was a lot of really cool stuff in this album. I feel like I am not usually into this type of stuff but a lot of the instrumentals are extremely cool and the production is fantastic.

Awesome evolution of R&B, not for me, but massively talented

Generic. Nothing special.

Laudable tilts to futurist ghostliness with assemblages of broken beats and synth that could have been drawn up by an architect on a beer mat make this best heard in the background - the cool production showcases a beautiful voice reading our nondescript diary entries, no groove, little in the way of refrain - this is void with an impeccable setting. I wish I enjoyed it more.

Dull, like an FKA Twigs without the talent and creativity or a Beyonce without the over-egged production. Do better!

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

The music was too empty.

YAS

Gold from the start! Instant buy

I was a tiny bit of a Tumblrina in my college years, as I think many queer, younger Millennial women were at the time, but I was also a party girl, frequenting house parties and local basement shows and dive bars of all shapes and sizes. The Venn Diagram between those two scenes is now referred to as ✨Indie Sleaze✨, although I personally perceive that term to refer to the Meet Me In The Bathroom Core™️ bands. By 2013 or so, that vibe had largely shifted over to represent folks in the Alt&B scene, which is a genre that’s gone through several rebrands. In the wake of Jai Paul, though, Cool Girl™️ party music got a lot moodier, a lot more stoned-out, and a lot more introspective, with concave 808 bass drums and mumbled vocals. This was primarily what people meant when they talked about Alt&B, despite Frank Ocean reviving the original neo-soul tradition of the genre in 2012. Because I was already a lifelong R&B fan, though, I got absorbed by this new sound and aesthetic. In fact, I loved it. I was a fiend for it, and still have a soft spot for a lot of those artists: Banks, AlunaGeorge, Blood Orange, The Internet, Tinashe, James Blake, Kaytranada and that one Boiler Room set. By 2017, though, this aesthetic was already starting to die out again, inevitably replaced by the neo-soul revival of Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Endless, and, more importantly, the slow rise in popularity of SZA off of Ctrl. This introverted aesthetic was taken out of R&B and placed in mainstream pop (Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, etc) and alt/emo-rap (XXX, Brent Faiyaz, etc), or was left alone for the art pop queens like FKA Twigs to tamper with. I think of Kelela’s Take Me Apart as this scene’s last big firework before the sparklers are all sent into the sky. It’s both a club record that encourages you to get a little high and shake your ass, and record that creates space for you to cry about your ex while you hotbox your Toyota Corolla, and sometimes, it wants you to feel like you want to do both at the same time, and that’s really what this era of Alt&B embodied. It takes a lot of cues from R&B a decade before– in particular the beat structure of Destiny’s Child– but adds emotional depth and vulnerability to the subject matter, while also deconstructing that sound to build to momentous moments. I think the best examples can be found on “Better,” “Blue Light,” and “Enough,” but the whole album has that same feeling on a full listen. I think the subtle electronica textures help, some of which are produced by Arca, which felt obvious once I learned that fact. And while emotional vulnerability is the name of the game her, there’s also more than enough moments that can be enjoyed simply as club bangers: “Waitin,” “Onanon,” and especially “LMK,” which is one of those songs I feel should have been bigger than it was. And then you have songs that split the difference, like “Frontline” and “Truth or Dare.” I will admit, I get the criticisms for Take Me Apart. It can be a little too introverted, a little too moody, and aesthetically, it can wear thin. Even as a fan, I do find myself starting to disengage over the course of the last few tracks. As a full listen, it can be a bit much. It also has a slight Pitchfork Approved™️ quality to it. But those are critiques you could throw at the entire Alt&B scene in the mid-2010s, and at that point, you’re either in or you’re out. And I am very much still in. I know this genre didn’t die– Kelela is still making excellent albums in this lane, Banks is about to release a new record, James Blake and Dev Hynes and Kaytranada are all well-regarded pop producers now, and Tinashe and FKA Twigs are more popular in 2025 than they maybe have ever been– but I feel like the moment has passed. I don’t really relisten to this era much any more, and truthfully, I kind of forgot how much I used to adore Take Me Apart. What’s more ironic is that, at the time, I would not have said this is the best album the scene ever produced. But in retrospect, I think it’s the obvious example. Like Diana for disco, it’s maybe not the last album in a genre that arguably never really died, but it’s the last important marker, a late-era release that burned so bright it made everything after it feel like a fade away.

Track one has me pulled in... how has this never hit my radar? Track four gets a little dreamy and slow, but still a nice lounge music vibe. Feels like good bourbon and conversation.

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

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

this is genuinely one of the best albums ive ever heard

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.

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

one of my all-time favorites

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

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

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

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

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.

LOVE

Damn good

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.

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

The production is godlike

easy peasy listening 4/5

Niet mijn soort muziek, wel goed

Decent

Was not expecting to like this as much as I did. Glad an album like this is on the list.

More and more enjoyable as it went on.

I loved this. An artist I’ve never heard of, a genre I’m not to keen on, yet it blew me away. The rest of the R&B community needs to catch up with Kelela.

3.5?

Not my cup of tea however I do think this is a good album and can see why it is on this list

Good album but not for me

A really good, yet sparse, pop offering. Similar vibes to FKA Twig's LP1, which shares some of the same production team.

Całiem niezłe. Dobry basik

> The Beatles I was unsure of this album at the start but I ended up vibing so hard with this

An artist I wasn’t familiar with, which is mad as this is my kind of thing. Real soulful pop music, some lush instrumentation, and Kelela’s honey rich vocals make this album a winner. One I’ll be returning to.

not sure if this slower r&b was my style

It’s always interesting that often, when there is an album other than 60s/80s soft rock it gets poor reviews… just an observation.

Raven clears

Enjoyed this one.

Interesting, but I couldn't pay much attention to lyrics. sound was nice for the most part.

She's got some game.

Was not expecting to like this album. I loved it.

It was quite good

Really engaging r&b stuff. Lovely, dark, and rich. Feels like it's a pastiche of multiple decades. Nice.

pretty awesome atmospheric rnb stuff, nothing crazy, but very good

this was a good album, i’d listen again

Listened Before? N This was a super interesting listen. I've never heard of her before but apparently this album is well known. I see why, it's very good and a unique blend of musical styles. Really enjoyed it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Frontline

I admit my heart sank a little when this popped up; slick modern R&B is not my thing at all. I had never heard of Kalela but knew exactly how this would sound. And I was so wrong. Take Me Apart is modern R&B but it has a huge soundscape. Atmospheric, with rumbling sub-bass and glitchy beats. Loads of EDM elements but also proggy (especially in the layered, 10CC-like vocal parts) and consistently interesting. Apparently Kalela played in metal bands at one stage and it’s not too fanciful to hear some of the things Sleep Token are doing, particularly in the breakdowns.

4 stars not bad

R&B gostosinho demais de ouvir e o GRANDE destaque aqui é "Onanon", sem dúvida alguma. Viciante demais, com um d&b perfeito. Kelala andou nessa faixa para que Pinkpanthress pudesse correr. Destaques: Onanon, Frontline e Truth or Dare

The production is gorgeous, her voice and performance is awesome, but most of the record blends into each other to me. It's still a good record mind you - but I don't rate it as highly as quite a few records on this list.

Never heard of her but love this

I apologize, I wasn't really familiar with your game

Think I gave this a shot when it came out and enjoyed it, just never went back to it again. Not because it's not a good album, it definitely is, but r'n'b is just not my jam. Still, great production and vocals, didn't mind giving it a run through at all.

This was pretty and relaxing

One of the first contemporary albums I'd not heard of. Enjoyed it but agree with others that it took intentional listening to keep the songs from blending together. But when songs stood out, they were really great.

I like this, I’m intrigued. Smooth but glitchy R&B. I doubt I’d ever get up to 5 stars but I would like to spend a little more time finding out.

Interessante, senza essere il mio genere.

Great vocalist! Soothing R&B for a slow evening. Very well done.

Considering her output in the years to follow after this album, this is a refreshingly progressive pick to be on this list. Highlights for me are “SOS” and “Onanon”.

Groovy, vibey, music to make out to

I liked her voice more as the album went on. Definitely a lot of bedroom type of music, VERY sexy. Somewhere around "Blue Light," I was really impressed with the instrumentation as well. I don't know if it's something I will keep coming back to, but the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. Top tracks: "Jupiter," "Blue Light," "Turn To Dust"

4/5

4/5

This album seems to showcase a lot of trends in music from the late 2010s-early 2020s, and is overall an enjoyable listen. It remains to be seen if it will stand the test of time, but it's pretty good for this time. Favorite track: "LMK."

I don’t typically like music like this, but this was different and slapped so hard. DC!!

Lovely voice and I liked the chilled out vibe I'd never heard of Kelela but would be interested in hearing some more of her stuff! 4 ⭐️