Reviews (page 4 of 7)
Took this one out for a second spin. It’s good. Deep, deep bass is always a plus.
Her voice is phenomenal. That's the highlight of the album for sure. The production is fine, but it's a bit too polished for my liking. It gets old too quickly Not enough variety in this album either. After listening, I started skimming back over the songs and I found when I skipped to various points of a song it sounded so similar. What she does is good, but she only really does the one thing. And when that one thing is repeated for almost an hour, you tend to get sick of that one thing.
UnRem&rkaBle
3.5 stars
Liked the sound for the most part. Nothing too stand out. I could see it growing on my after more listens but for now I'd go 3.5
Meh pop, some really spacial and souly sounds which i appreciate but all in all not my jam
Not unenjoyable to listen to, but didn't distinguish itself enough from similar sounds. I've also never heard of it, and it dropped while I was in high school, so I seriously doubt this will ever be considered an essential listen.
I didn’t give this my full attention. Perfectly pleasant but didn’t make an impact.
Not sure why this was considered futuristic in 2017 when it sounds like it came out in 2003, but it's not bad. Generally inoffensive 2000s r&b.
I liked it, very much Janet vibes. Not sure if it's something that belongs on this type of list. 3.4.
Smooth but pretty milquetoast, good for sleeping I guess 2.8
to me this is that one woman from humanz on submission with danny brown. she gives a great performance tbh so let's get into this. TRACK BY TRACK 1 FRONTLINE. pretty much just nice cont r&b vocals over a stock trap beat and some nice occasional synths. it's alright, i like the electronic progression but it never leads anywhere interesting. generously 7/10 2 WAITIN. it's nice but really not that interesting. a nice melody (singular) and clean production but i don't know when i would ever listen to this. 6/10 3 TAKE ME APART. cool production and nice melodies, more refined than the last two songs. still fairly generic but it's good. 8/10 4 ENOUGH. basically a less alien fka twigs (lp1 era). but that alienness is a sorry departure. nearly solid but 7/10 5 JUPITER. yeah vocals man, make them shine. uh nothing happens though. not that anything needs to, but here it would've helped. 6/10 6 BETTER. boring beginning but the more modern, slightly dark production comes in and it's better for it. still just alright though. 7/10 7 LMK. cool, it's got that weirdly dark and slightly trippy (and great) production paired with catchy vocals, probably my favourite on the album. 8/10 8 TRUTH OR DARE. very catchy and funky, i possibly prefer this to the last one. i could see myself returning to this one. 8/10 9 S.O.S. i like the atmosphere and it's very dreamy but i feel like a lot more could've been done with this. 7/10 10 BLUE LIGHT. damn that's a bass alright. i like it though. 8/10 11 ONANON. i absolutely love the productio and beat on this song, i wish the whole album leaned into that glitched idm sound more. and the strings and melodies, yeah this is the song. is this a burial production my god. 9/10 12 TURN TO DUST. it's nice, there's something weird about how its either mixed or mastered that those ai stem seperated tracks sound like otherwise its nice, not much more. 7/10 13 BLUFF. pretty boring, but it seems like a full song, why is it only a minute long. 6/10 14 ALTADENA. it's ok. tries to lean into atmosphere too hard with the vocals, nothing here hits me at all. 6/10 overall nice album with some very solid moments, but a lot of potential that just doesn't hit very often. the mellow and minimalistic r&b moments were my weaknesses but i loved the glitchier and catchy tracks, which i hope she could make into an album some day. onanon was easily my favourite, but lmk and truth or dare were great too. 7/10
Not really my style, but her voice has a hypnotic quality and the beats are pretty good. She doesn't delve into complete whining either like some divas. I'm not sure what else to say about this. 3/5
6/10. The vocals are great, but the album drags on for too long. It starts getting quite boring.
Take Me Apart is definitely a jack of all trades, master of none type of album. A lot of the time, i really do like the mix of R&B as well as hip-hop/electronic type of music this album is going for and it does seem to do that style well. The music is pretty good, Kelela has some good vocals and the lyrics are solid as well. The problem is, that's all the album really does. Every song seems to rely on this formula with some slight changes here and there but each song more or less gives the same kind of vibe. This causes a lot of the songs to become pretty forgettable as they all blend in too well. This album is far from bad but i did expect more from it. Best Song: Blue Light Worst Song: Enough
I like the glitch elements, and most of it doesn't feel like generic pop, which was a relief. She's an amazing singer but the main drawback is that I think some songs could have gone harder, there are quite a few uninteresting trap type beats which leave a lot to be desired. The best ones are all synthpop/more ambient ones, which there is a few of. Favourite songs: frontline, waitin, better, blue light, onanon, turn to dust, altadena. Overall around 6/10
While this is a good R&B production, I don't see anything outstanding or "futuristic". Combining R&B with other styles is nothing new, even with electronica. She has a nice voice. The themes may be personal, but they're a bit bland to me. Nevertheless, if one of the tracks comes up in the future, I probably won't skip it.
Better than average but not great
Not a genre I listen to often, but this seems to cross a few - one immediate like is that she's not oversinging - I like the restraint in her voice which adds a bit of tension to the music. Big strike against the trap beats - something I really dislike, and does an even bigger disservice here because the music is pretty good. But overall I'm left trying to remember details of what I just listened to...? Nothing annoying at all, and a generally smooth sound (and the trap beats weren't entirely pervasive, thankfully) that lets each song run into each other which I always end up feeling mid about. Feels like a great mood record and as a result I don't have a favourite track because 1=14 and everything in-between. Very nice chill vibe (if pressed, my fave song: "Better" - I'd swear whoever wrote the initial keyboard lines cribbed Marillion's "Kayleigh") - honestly would have loved a bit more variety but it's a solid 3 here. 7/10 3 stars.
This doesnt deserve to be here but still pretty enjoyable
Nice r&b. I liked eqch song and saved one but nothing really stood out as exceptional imo
I liked it! Not my typical favorite genre but it was fun and a lil sexy
Nice backing
my review is both connotations of the following sentence: fine r&b
Decent R&B but kind of forgettable for me. This is not my genre really. Great voice. Album seems pretty personal
This is totally fine, but don't see anything really groundbreaking here. Nice to have on in the background, barely caught my attention though most of the time. Fave Tracks: LMK 3.2/5
So, the music good. I enjoyed listening to the record. It didn’t totally grab me, but still I could see myself giving it another listen.
3.5 If i owned a high-end speaker store, I would probably put this album quite a bit. Thought it sounded great. I would consider this a pretty good pop album but it lacked the hooks to really grab me. Check out Sudan Archives if you liked this, that's interesting too
I bounced back a few times from this record but got back into it again after a while. Overall, it's not my type of music but I enjoyed the great vocals and overall atmosphere of this record. The instrumentation and production is honestly really good and I love the electronic influences. It's just not something I would actively listen to if I'm honest. The vibes are great though.
Perfectly all right solid pop.
Good to groove to while doing data entry. 3/5
Good
I don't want to take her apart and I didn't listen to the whole thing but what I listened to was ok but not as interesting as I'd hoped.
As always with this project, I'm intrigued with an artist/band I've never heard of. Sometimes it's a fun experience; most of the time it's not so fun, and this album definitely falls into the latter category, but in every case I feel like I've been exposed to music I probably wouldn't have ever listened to. I've never heard of Kelela, and I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything by her, certainly not from this album. I also found I was double-checking that this really did come out in 2017, rather than the 90s or 2000s, as there's nothing particularly recent-sounding on this album. And I have to question the wisdom of her choices with the opening track's video for "Frontline", a *very* antiquated-looking VR-like animation of a woman apparently having enough of her man; the video totally distracts from the song, and I kept thinking how strange it was to have a fairly-recent video looking like it might have been made with technology from the 90s. (Thankfully, the other two are live videos, and while "LMK" isn't particularly interesting, "Blue light" has a somewhat interesting erotic horror element, likely inspired by Bjork but having a certain Lovecraftian spin.) Unfortunately, the non-video tracks didn't really have much going for them either, at least for me, and I'm hard-pressed to distinguish most of the songs from each other ("Better" is a bit more distinctive than most). This could easily have been a *much* shorter album and not lost a thing, sadly. Given that the primary appeal of this album seems to be the melodic singing over electronic music, a la Bjork, I'm *very* frustrated that we got this album yet literally nothing from Faithless, which did many aspects of this approach and mood *so* much better (or, for that matter, anything from Dido). That's not Kelela's fault, of course, but it's hard not to ding her for not measuring up to past artists.
This isn't my groove, so me thinking it was okay is pretty good.
This is one of those obvious "critic favorite" albums. Sometimes, I agree with the critics and think we've all discovered something new in music. Sometimes, like now, I feel like they were reaching for the descriptions of this "cutting edge production" and "futuristic sound." It was fine. I thought it stood out at the time because R&B was in a bad spot in 2017, but there was some other good albums, so I don't know. I definitely didn't hate it, but I didn't add it to my collection to ever listen to again, either.
Another tick in the box for "Sexy lady singing about sex in a sexy way." Less pop than a lot of other sexy vibe songs, but to be honest I was bored by the whole thing.
I listened to this. It’s not my usual sort of genre that I listen to. Sort of electronic R&B? But yeah. It was good to listen to something different. I might come back to it. But at the same time, it’s not really what I reach for so… 3.5?
Interesting. Might revisit.
Solides Woman Voice R&B aus 2017 als passende Begleitmusik zum Mojito - aber nich grandios.
Random thoughts: * I've never heard of Kelela. As a matter of fact, of the related artists on her Spotify page, I only knew 2 of the 12. There is so much good music these days. It is just a matter of breaking through. * LMK is the best song and definitely stands out. * This really isn't my kind of music and I probably won't be revisiting it. It's fine and I'd listen again if it was put on by someone else. I just won't be choosing this myself. It's just not my jam.
Really like the production and trippy electrónica instrumental- need to listen again to pay attention to lyrics.
Not my type of music, but a very easy listen. It ended up being background music with a very chill vibe.
I'm a sucker for a good r&b sound so go ahead and count me as a fan of this album
R&b is not my go to genre. A lot of it blends together for me. She has a nice voice though. It was perfectly nice but I probably will not revisit this.
Expected a straight forward r&b album but I was surprised by the electronic components. Her voice is sweet and this was pretty nice overall. Standout track is: “Jupiter”
Electronica and R&B for me is not high on the list of genres but this one worked well enough. It was fine overall. No real standouts and probably won't recognize the songs if I heard them again.
Really nice vocals here. Production is well done too. Just not anything I'm interested in listening to.
Pleasant - updated Sade - didn't mind
Not bad, I enjoyed the downtempo but I don’t tend to go for modern R&B
Even though I'm not a fan of electronic music, what I enjoyed most about this album was to (re-)discover the alternative R&B style, mainly in the songs with more electronic effects.
Don’t know why, but I kind of like this. Straight up pop but there are little flourishes that hook me in. Not high art but I’ll definitely put this on in the car in the summer with the windows down
I wish I could give this 3.5
Good, but not enough variety to justify the runtime.
Clearly a baffling addition to the book’s later editions despite some nice vocal stylings and killer production throughout.
Take Me Apart leans heavily into a polished pop/R&B sound, but it doesn’t feel particularly innovative. The music is fine, it's smooth and well-produced, but nothing stands out enough to make it memorable. It’s hard to see why this album belongs on this list.
I've never heard of this album or artist before. She has a good voice and the music was fine enough. Not really my style but didn't mind having it on either. 5.25/10 (2.625/5)
I get the feeling I would hear a song from this in a cool bar on a nice Sunday afternoon. I’d like if and make a point to listen to the album which I’d also like because it’s all that same song. Listened to half and realised I’d heard all this album has to offer.
Rarely do I get to talk about an album that released recently. Except I can’t even really say recently anymore, since this was nearly 8 years ago. 2017 being almost a decade old is a slightly terrifying thought. I’ve never heard of Kelela. Although I have seen the cover to her 2023 release Raven before. She seems relatively well known, but she isn’t the new face of modern alternative R&B or anything like that. Although she seems very popular with the music critics. Which anyone with a brain should know by now is not indicative of quality. I think this gets off to a pretty solid start. And it made me hold out hope for something really cool. But reality set in fast that what you get in the beginning basically sums up the whole record. I’ll start by saying the production is amazing. Whether I like most of the songs or not, I cannot deny this its flowers. The whole record has a glossy and futuristic feel to it. It’s like the musical equivalent of a fancy, expensive chrome sports car. Specifically one that is driving through some sort of neo-futuristic city. Imagine the luxury vehicles the Corpos drive in Cyberpunk 2077. Drawing on the UK Bass and dubstep genres creates a very dense sound profile fueled by synths, that’s backed by glitchy electronic drums. And Kelela herself has an amazing voice. But all of this can’t necessarily carry your album. Many of these tracks sound the same, and considering how little really changes within them, some are maybe longer than they need to be. It’s disappointing that an album with such an impressive and refined sound isn’t as fine tuned in the songwriting department. Rating: 6/10
R&B mixed with some electronica. Pretty good, took a little while to grow on me, might go up with another listen
It’s nice to get something that’s less than ten years old. And also something that could be very much in my wheelhouse that I wouldn’t otherwise check out. And its Warp Records, and they have a good track record. I feel like if you’ve been in any sort of alt/indie whatever spaces in the last 15 years, you’ve heard stuff like this, and while I don’t keep up with it in any sense it is good stuff. Anyhow, it’s a big, sparkly R&B record. I liked it and I think it’s got great tracks and the idea is good, but it does drag a bit for me. The sound of the record is very “rounded off” — on most of the tracks, there’s nothing sharp or crunchy or snappy. There’s also a lot of lush, ethereal reverb all over everything, which sometimes sounds good and other times makes a track sound like Eurodance at an ice-skating rink. I think more live instrumentation would’ve helped a lot. The problem with any album that critics describe as “futuristic” is that it doesn’t sound “futuristic” within five years of its release. The reviews for this really described it in ways that I didn’t hear. I heard good, current alternative R&B. But I don’t think this needed to be 14 tracks and I don’t hear what the reviews are talking about at all. Take Me Apart, LMK, S.O.S., Onanon, and Turn To Dust were highlights. 2/5 feels unfair because it’s good, but this feels very of its time and very of the Heavy Reverb Pop Spotify Playlist niche. I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. 2.75/5?
Nice voice. Sure looks like she’s selling sex rather than her vocal ability which is significant. Spoke heels and bodycon clothes, try to be an artist! 3/5
I'm kind of surprised I've never heard of Kelela, this was pretty great. Some of it got a bit monotonous but it was a nice pleasant listen. More of a 3.5 if I could.
This was another album that was new to me. Meticulous in its production and arrangement, Kelela's Take Me Apart is smooth and sensual R&B fused with electronic music. Not mind over machine, Take Me Apart's electronic grooves are a testament to mind's recognition that the machine is embodied. The future never sounded so enticing. Download this R&B 2.0 directly into your central nervous system and explore the matrix.
2.5
Enjoyed this. Decent listen.
There is so much I want to like about this album. First of all I love her voice. There's an aching passion that draws me note for note though out the album. I think that's what keeps me wanting to appreciate this more. It is a bit out of my usual wheelhouse, but done female Neo-soul act hace garnered my attention as of late. Though out this album there are some great production sonics that I really dig. But I think it comes down to the songs themselves don't make any of this feel like something I'd like to revisit over and over again. I'm going to give this a really light 3½, just because there is something there that really attracts me, but not fully fleshed out. (7.00) ★★★½
I think it's well produced and pleasant, but I don't think it's as revolutionary as the critics seem to think it is. It's solid modern R&B. "LMK" and "Frontline" are probably the standouts for me. 3 stars.
From top to bottom she is a bit of a stunner but from front to back this album is actually quite a letdown. It starts off so alluringly with a couple of extremely strong singles and she has such a smooth, silky voice with a sweltering swelterpit of synthy, clubbish RnB neo soul behind it. Unfortunately this sweltering swelterpit of neo soul goodness turns to completely vapid smush about 3 tracks in as no more actual different beats or grooves or songs are brought to the table. Even Kelela’s seemingly super silky, siren like voice gets kinda tired and samey after a certain point. A one trick pony albeit a sexy one so 3 stars.
I like the sound of this album, the R&B Electronica with the vocals work well together, it’s just very repetitive. There’s not much variety so it all starts to blend together if I’m being completely honest.
Fine yet planned R&B that all melts together into one long song.
She has a beautiful voice, but I don't understand how this is considered futuristic. It's very enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but it could have been considered futuristic in 2010.
Why does this album feel like it’s 10 hours long? At 53 minutes, Take Me Apart outstays its welcome, but why? I like the general sound of the record, but every song really does have a very similar feel. To me, Kelela sounds like a much more even-keeled Solange Knowles. Both use unique, bass heavy arrangements, but unlike Solange, Kelela’s tempo and overall dynamic remain almost constant throughout, and the few tracks with any sort of unique qualities are the standouts. 3/5
Op zich wel mooi gezongen, maar het is niet mijn favoriete genre. ***
Nice but not extraordinary.
Interesting and cool. Would listen again and it could definitely grow on me more.
It's OK
Fín rödd og áheyrileg og hófstillt R&B-techno blanda. Svo sem ágætt í bakgrunni en ekki mitt fyrsta val í tónlist, eða annað ef út í það er farið, nú eða þriðja, og ekki það fjórða heldur, &c.
Remember listening to this a lot back in 2017 and having it go over my head a lot. Honestly can't say much has changed. There's some good stuff here, but I do think the electronica/R&b stuff has been done better. Moments hit but mostly this is just okay. Best Track: LMK Worst Track: Turn to Dust
Not terrible but not great either. Another middle of the road album in a long list of middle of the road albums.
This was pretty good. Nice, easy, quiet. Good for background music. Nothing earthshaking. Just a nice, low key hip hop record. Somewhere between Solange and TLC.
Favorite was "LMK" Rating a 3 but really probably more like 3.5.
Liked it a lot
This is fun. Good r&b sound and she's got a good voice. Frontline and Onanon were my faves. Will definitely listen to again.
Not bad but its a one and done for me.
Yawn. I set an alarm to make certain I woke up when it ended. Not that it isn't skillfully executed - just a genre that I do not find entertaining.
Bit of a hit and miss album for me, some really good tracks but I feel the start and end of the album gets a bit weak
First song bangs
Actually quite enjoyed this more modern form of R&B from 2017.
She has a nice voice, and the beats are chill. There is an almost industrial quality to it that makes it more interesting.
Take Me Apart is pretty immaculately constructed with shades of Jon Hopkins and Burial in the beat work, and I imagine that’s why a lot of this works for one audience, and why it doesn’t for others. I’m a fan of the both of the artists I’ve listed as influences, and as such I think it’s interesting to hear it used within an American Pop context which is also why I’m sure American critics were so fond of it, because without the context of the American Pop scene this does sound fresh and exciting. But, from the context of British Electronica, this is utilising styles which were at the time about 10 years removed. If you’re a fan of Electronic music, there’s certainly a lot to like here. And as such, I enjoyed it. But as an R&B album, I’m not sure it works. It’s too reliant on the beats, and not the traditional R&B hallmarks, the vocals and the songwriting. Kelela’s vocals are fine, often beautiful even, but they always feel secondary to the music. The same is true of the lyrics and song structures. None of these songs really have choruses, which is I imagine why some people have had trouble differentiating them. The hook is the use of these specifically British sounds in the beats, which works as a piece of experimentation. But I think to be a true great, Kelela needs to start working on her songwriting, refining the lyrics, finding her niche on specific topics, and working on hooks and choruses. Also, and this is besides the point but I feel it has to be mentioned, the photo on Kelela’s ‘About The Artist’ section on Spotify cuts out her face and instead presents her to the world nipple first, which is… a bold choice let’s say
Mellow and kinda relaxing right at this the right time
Agradable pero monótono
Interesting production / background music. Definitely an R&B feel, but more modern.
Another in the growing list of "British Artists That I'd Never Heard of Before." At least albums R&B meets downtempo electronica made it a little more interesting than other albums on that list.
not bad, but nothing special
Pretty cool electronic r&b music. a few songs can be a little repetitive though.
Gave me good feelings on my lunch break.
Great voice, and unique sound. Not quite my style but worth the listen this morning.
I didn't know this artist but this album is pretty nice if a little same paced
decent R&B sound overall.
Overall 3/5. I didn’t love the sound I feel like there was an over reliance on the production and not enough dynamics in the voice. Although the songs were smooth for the most parts many of the more experimental elements didn’t do it for me and they came off as a little jarring.
Light and airy. Not bad as background, but don't think I'll bother again.
Really interesting sound
It was decent
Sad girl music, heavy on lyrics, was about relationships
Ok admittedly not a big RnB fan. And I've had a couple of similar ones that sound good on first listen and quickly become boring. I reckon this will fall into this category so won't put it on rotation. But still, find it pleasant overall.
Smooth and easy listen
interesting
It's fine. Kinda repetitive with nothing really standing out. Good background music. I wish one of the songs had like a big pop moment similar to the Weeknd but it all seemed like deep album cuts.
I missed this when it came out - I like it, very chill spacey r&b.
I didn't understand what was so innovative about this album. It sounded like it came right out of the 80's or early 90's - strong female vocals with a bunch of synth and production room sounds. It could've been a Janet Jackson album with how it sounded. Maybe that was new again in the 2010's for R&B? At least the 80's and 90's didn't add autotune to their synth. She sounds like a really good vocalist, so why bother with that crap? Aside from that, it was all kind of the same for me song to song. Meh - average.
Synthetic + generic = disposable. Here voice is good, even excellent at time, but the songs never get anywhere, for being drenched in effects that were no doubt sold as cutting edge and sound dated within a decade.
Sultry seduction Whispered on subdued dance tracks More than just a voice
Part of the challenge with best-of lists is that they tend to be dominated by a certain type of older/male-er/whiter listener/collector/wannabe-curator. So I am absolutely here for hearing more new stuff from young woman artists/producers. Whether I actually like this or not isn't that relevant. I thought it was alright; quite sexy, although modern RnB is probably never gonna be my jam in a big way. I enjoyed discovering this record.
Aika perus rnbtä. Joissain biiseissä kivaa kaikuääntä
Meh not for me
I gave it all my interest, time and appreciation but came away with only two songs that really spoke to me. I won't call it derivative, or generic like some others may have. It has deep roots in r&b and electronica with moments of psychedelic genre blending. So not generic, there is the bones of great music here. Needs to continue to be built up.
This is not bad. I was unaware of this. But I don’t mind it at all. It’s a bit samey . But sets a nice mood. It may be a bit early to see if this becomes canon or whether it becomes a weird artifact in a book that dumps it in a few years for some other new act. But that’s not for me to decide. 3.5 rounded up.
She's got a great voice, and the production is lush and assured. But the mid-tempo, mid-intensity smooth sound (which is schmick, admittedly) doesn't vary across the hour, and I tended to drift off. I listened to this a couple of times, enjoyably, but there aren't many memorable moments. Great voice, though. I don't think we'll still be talking about this album as a classic album in twenty years' time, although I wouldn't put it past Kelela to produce something really extraordinary down the line. I'm sure she has it in her.
Happy to listen to a female musician. I’d never heard of Kelley’s before.
This album has excellent song transitions and has an exceptional flow
First listened to this back in 2017 on release. Didn't catch me then, doesn't catch me now. Take Me Apart is a pleasant listen, but nothing stands out to me. Kelela's vocals are sweet, and the instrumentation is lush; I just feel like I've heard it all before done better. No hate though. *Heard before.
Une production léchée, fort jolie voix.
Alright, just not great.
Take Me Apart is the debut studio album by Kelela, originally released in 2017. To echo what another user said, it was so easy to tell that this is an album loved by Pitchfork. You know what I mean. Those albums that are too experimental to be mainstream but not experimental enough to be considered weird. It reminds me of music that would be played inside an Urban Outfitters, instead of played in an H&M. It's music for people who claim they don't listen to mainstream pop. This doesn't mean it's bad. Kelela's vocals are pretty good. The production is OK. Apparently that's what this record was most praised for. It's not THAT spectacular to me. It relies a lot on electronics and is actually beginning to sound a bit dated already. Like you can definitely tell this album came out in the 2010s.
Very high class R&B over very of the moment, XX-style, skittish beats. I liked it a good deal, and I was really pleased to discover it.
Smooth techno edged soul
This could've been something, but this attempt to merge R&B with electronica was better in theory than in practice. You'd think putting together genres would result in something interesting but it was all very samey. One sound, one tempo, one vibe. Kind of a missed opportunity, really. One artist that does this whole thing better is Banks. If anyone cares to pay attention to my suggestion, Banks also integrates futuristic and electronic elements into her music. The difference is that there's more variation with her stuff - danceable tracks, dark ballads, emotional tracks - the whole shebang. Anyway, I digress. Point is that I had high hopes but this did not live up. The few standouts were Frontline and LMK.
This album was quite enjoyable. Not usually something I would listen too. 5 star’d a couple of tracks so they will be played again at some point but probably won’t listen to the album as a whole again, but you know, not bad by any stretch.
Airy productions and great vocal performances by Kelela. It’s all fine but maybe not inventive enough to deserve a spot on this list? I can appreciate it though - but I’m not exactly the target audience.
Adult contempo with an edge
Chill album, very easy to vibe out to.
Eh, good production but kind of whatever
Didn't mind this tbh. 2.64
Decent vocals over light, soaring, underwater, clicking electronica. Well crafted debut album, Kelela. The songs all sound very similar, so similar that there was difficulty telling the difference between one and the next. But I like the sound, will check out more of her work. Sade’s little sister come in at (3.3*s)
This album starts off strong and I liked it the first time through but after subsequent listens it's very similar from start to finish. I tried to pay closer attention to give it a careful listen but kept drifting off and coming back in about 4 songs later and thinking it was still the same song. I don't like that about it but there is something interesting going on here. Her vocals are soft and layered over very lush, sonic productions. I like the sound effects of cars driving off, high heels, snaps and clicks. It's very dreamy and an enjoyable listen but it's not touching greatness. What I do like is that she knows how cool she is and part of that rubs off on you by hearing this and knowing her name. I'll round up.
I’ll preface by saying that R&B is most likely the genre I struggle with most. It’s not for me, the content of the lyrics is one thing but the vocal delivery is often the most grating element of R&B, fucking R&B. That being said the music and production on Take Me Apart is really good, Kelela has a strong voice but she’s and R&B artist so she has that annoying delivery but the beats and the music behind the vocals helped me thru this one. 3 stars
Kinda pedestrian for the 1001.
A pleasant enough listen, seems like a typical bit of late 2010s genre mixing
Smooth and mellow.
This artist’s super power is obviously sonic layering. That was like taking a bath in harmony. I was too harsh on Sade’s Diamond Life. I’ll award her spiritual descendant - Kelela - an extra star for the future-facing smooth operations.
not sure why is this the 2017 choice for the list but it is a good album
This was pretty good. Surprised there are good albums in the 2010s on here.
I liked this alright and would probably like it more with a re-listen. For the first few songs, I was wondering if I might give this a 2, but then it picked up and I liked more of the songs. I don’t know, there isn’t that much to talk about because the songs are mostly just melodies.
Good, but not for me
Not bad. Didn't give it a fair crack though. Life etc. got in the way.
Not mine - but good pop music
Du bon RnB, moins mémorable que dans mes souvenirs, mais ça reste un bon album. 7/10
Ethereal, enjoyable but no stand outs for me unfortunately.
Pretty decent
Subdued, sensual. I think a lot of these modern R&B albums have a similar sound palette, very stoned and relaxed. For what it's worth, I like the production a lot on this, but the songs never really get to a point where I'm asking to hear more. Favorite tracks: "Take Me Apart", "Enough", "Blue Light"
Great voice
No strong opinions good or bad on it. Easy listen while working. 3/5
Meh not really for me. Not bad. But not my cup of tea.
It's nice, but over produced for my taste. I appreciate the mellow sexiness here, rather than the in your face style that most go for.
Not bad, not great. The singing is too one dimensional. Production was apparently futuristic for Americans, but the Brits had been doing similar things for years already. Favorite song: enough
Pretty good poppy album, I wouldn't mind hearing this in malls, but after a while the songs started merging too much to one another. Stand-out: LMK
Voice and vibe but didn’t do it for me. Can see influence on sza etc
Mhmm, yeah!
Nice!
As a person who consider 99% of R&B to be honk-shoo-mimimimi background music, this was actually pretty good. I still wouldn't return to it, but it had something extra that made me want to pay attention to it through the entire runtime, which is a first for me in this genre.
Beautiful voice!
björk x beyonce oft uninspiriert
Good music but so boring. To me
It's albums like these I'm glad I make an effort to listen to every album twice—or one-and-a-half times, at least. Because on a first go around, I was gonna give this a 3 that was leaning more towards a 2. Y'know, I didn't really understand it, but I didn't here anything I obviously disliked: it's fine. It was only within the last four tracks that this album finally clicked for me, and relistening to the first half of the album with those in mind (plus the knowledge that this is a concept album about relationships), I enjoyed it a whole lot more. Between Kelela's vocals and the R&B futurism beats... It's a lot of neat stuff. I'm still not giving this more than a 3 'cuz it's nothing I'd really return to beyond the day it was generated for me, but I had a good time with it while it lasted. Y'know, it's a 3 closer to a 4. (Also, another thing helped me understand this album, honestly: fanmade Epic Rap Battles. Jus', keeping those beats and flows in mind really did help me, honest to goodness.)
Idk, I wasn’t as blown away with this as the description said I should be. The singing is monotonous and the production is the only saving grace, 2017 should sound better
Sounded quite 90s
Quite nice really
The production here is great - sharp, precise, ultra clean. It suits the vocals. There's a futuristic feel throughout. A little too squeaky around the edges for me. But I can see what the idea was and where this is heading. Impressive, given so much modern pop is absolute shite these days.
Pass, will listen on CD at some point
Smooth sounding album, enjoyable.
Not my style of music at all, and a little racy for the morning at work.
Take Me Apart is the debut album by American singer and songwriter Kelela. It combines electronic music with R&B to create a futuristic sound. This interesting groove had Kelela's beautiful voice dancing throughout, making a layered and full body composition. The album was appreciated and charted around the world. I liked this relaxing, dream-like album, primarily for Kelela's singing. Take Me Apart is an awesome R&B album, that I would recommend.
Wasn't too bad actually I kinda liked it. Felt like a better SZA. Very experimental instrumentals and I liked that I couldn't guess how the song was gonna go. Also liked her voice. I don't think this will go into my regular rotation but I didn't hate my time with it.
Cool vibes, very cool to get somethin different
love the vibe! so nice! really good for sunday morning listening.... actually, a little moody. reached the end, definitely too moody.
A tad too long and not really my music style of choice but I didn’t dislike it. Didn’t really like it that much, either.
This album is a puzzling one. Electro R&B sounds really interesting on paper and parts of this album were really greats. There are certain drops, synth swells, and sections of vocal layering that caught my attention, but I found that most of this album tended to run together. The production is very clean and the sequencing and song construction is fine, but it does not feel as groundbreaking as its critical acclaim seems to note. I did enjoy this album for the most part though. It was too long by about 15 minutes though.
I want to like R&B music more than I do. This is good music to put on during sex, but it didn’t do much for me otherwise. Nothing I disliked about it, it was very technically sound, but also nothing I loved about it. Sexy album cover!
Good vibes
This didn't totally set itself apart, but there were a few times I wondered why I'd never heard of her before. Besides being old and out of touch.
Not a fan of this kind of music, but enjoyed this to a reasonable extent. A kind of studio edifice of dream pop, it has all the hallmarks of modern production and associated trickery. Some of the effects are impressive but leave me a little cold. The programmed beats, voice manipulation and the amorphous clouds of noise that power this record are the aural equivalent of green screen tech; the products are superficially adroit, pushing sound and visual palettes beyond what can be done through elbow grease alone. And yet too often the output is uncanny, disconnected from any real world analogue and thus the bond with human endeavour and craft. I'm still gonna give this three stars.
This was a pretty good R&B album but I was shocked I’ve never wears anything about this before. The lyrics and production were well done. The first song was probably the best but a lot of the remaining ones did seem to blend like the first one. Overall it’s fine. Idk if this is significantly better than other recent R&B albums. 5.9/10
Decent, but not particularly exciting.
I have to agree with the reviews who talked about the sameness between all the tracks. Nothing was offensive but nothing was grabbing my attention either. More than decent as background music to fill the air, Kelela has a lovely voice that needs no ornamentation. There just needed to be more variance in the songs.
I enjoyed this! but not a lot haha. One criticism I have is the recording is epic loudness-wars style - take it easy on the compressor folks haha An artist I like called Kimbra does music in a similar vein and achieves a 'modern' sound but doesn't chase the loudness into ball-of-mud territory.
I liked the sort of electronica sound of this at first, thinking it might lead to an exciting new sound for this album. But I didn't really find that. I couldn't really tell any song from the other and I got super bored by the end.
easily listenable, no stand outs
3/5. Not an R&B guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I actually really liked Kelela’s voice and thought it had some great power.
Likes: Waitin, Frontline, Take Me Apart, Enough, Blue Light, Bluff Would I Listen Again: yeah
Solid but I expected more after so much acclaim I saw this get when it came out (2.5/5)
Feels sort of bland
Good album. Not usually my everyday listening. I thought it was mellow and groovy.
Not something I couldn’t have lived without hearing. But not bad. If my baseline is average at 2.5. Round up to a 3.
Solid but kinda generic. I got really bored in the middle
Not bad. Was expecting some generic R and B but the electronic additions were quite nice and made this worth listening to for me.
Dreamy and cool, I really like the overall production of this album. I'm not sure I'll ever listen to it again, but it was decent. 3/5
A nice modern female R&B record, with well-placed layers of gentle electronica throughout. Great voice, good production.
Sommige nummers erg fijn sommige nummers een stuk minder
Felt fairly generic, didn't connect with it, she had a good voice mostly covered with reverb.
Bah, normal. Agradable. Electro-R&Balternative R&Belectronica. Un 3
Cool album, can't say it left much more of an impression than that
This was alright actually.
soundtrack of every ride share i’ve ridden in nyc
super cool, chill kind of pop album. worked great for background music during homework but no songs stood out to me
It's fine. 3/5
местами как шугабейбз, но слишком рнб, не моё
Achei meio normal, sla, nada que tocaria em qualquer playlist sem copyright
Solid rnb, right around 3. Some a little slow for my liking but depends on mood
It was easy enough to work too, and an interesting styles blend, but seemed so repetitive that it was dull
Very enjoyable, reminded me a lot of Blood Orange.
I wasn't able to listen to this properly, though I did get to hear most of it. Kelela set a mood, and the production was crisp. No song stood out — though I'll need another listen to assess for sure. I'll keep my eye out for her and try to dig in another time.
I struggled to have feelings about this one. A rating seems arbitrary, so I'll go right down the middle, even though there are 3-star albums I liked more than this.
Nice album with nice beats
decent men långtråkigt
Pretty bland
Rating: 6/10 Decent album, I enjoyed it overall. Starts off good with the first song then gets incredibly boring for the next few, then gets a lot more interesting starting with Better. Has a good voice, nothing too unique though. The production is very good, has some cool electronic elements added. The album is pretty one-dimensional, not much variety on it. Favorite songs: Frontline, Better, LMK, Blue Light. Worst songs: Enough, Jupiter.
Very good. Nothing outstanding or unique, but good.
Weer eens iets anders en ik moet zeggen dat het me best aardig beviel.
Best prima.
Not really my jam or my area, but this is clearly a great record from a great artist. I fully get why it was included on the list.
Finally a modern one, but kind of boring
Niet helemaal mijn genre, maar af en toe toch best aardig.
Music for the people. Truly unproblematic in any way, which is another way of saying that it makes little to no statements. It's fun music, possibly a tad repetitive. I enjoyed it and have no big complaints. 3/5
It’s an alright album, not my usual sort of thing but I’m pretty open to anything if it’s good. Not sure I really needed to hear this one before I died though. I will say there are some riffs that remind me of the classic Australian band Bardot and for that I added another star hahaha
wayyy to long of a album. if it was 10 songs would’ve been perfect. just felt like everything in the middle sounded the same
Beautiful voice but not my type of music and none of these songs made any kind of impression.
Very nicely produced and texturally interesting, but I didn't Fing myself falling in love. It's a solid mid table R&B album in the post-Weeknd vein.
Pretty, possibly groundbreaking I don't know, but not all that engaging, unfortunately. Beautiful and classy to have on in the background. Enough caught my ear the most.
Pas des masses mon style de musique à la base, et j'avais un a priori assez négatif sur la pochette d'album sexualisée complètement gratuitement. Ça s'écoute en arrière-plan et c'est pas désagréable, c'est donc mieux que ce que je craignais, mais rien qui m'accroche vraiment pour autant.
C'était pas mal, et ça change un peu. J'ai bien aimé le côté électro bien amené et bien maîtrisé. Pour autant est-ce que c'est vraiment un des 1000 meilleurs albums trucs trucs ? Je suis pas sûr.
Pleasantly surprised. Excellent production and a nice vibe. Not at all in my wheelhouse, but it’ll go into the rotation.
Inderdaad heel gevarieerd. Best wel oké
Pretty smooth pleasant album, but I question whether it’s that remarkable or unique for this list. I do like it a little, or much more than most R&B I’ve heard thanks to the production and her vocals, which are never too showy nor annoying.
Not really my kind of music but I can appreciate that it is interesting and different! 5/10. One point taken off for being far too long.
The genius production element here is the multiple vocal tracks layered and mixed I to every song. This is quit good and done well. But that's the sole reason for being on this list.
Good background music but no songs stood out to me on the listen.
A sweet voice singing nice songs.
I started off thinking I was into it and elements reminded me thing I like about FKA Twigs or Delilah but after a while I was not so sure. I liked the really big moments, but these sort of thinned out towards the of the album
Wasn't bad, kinda liked it
Not normally a type of music that I listen to, but it's not bad! The sound gently washes over you like a warm bath. 3 stars.
Not unpleasant but dull and long
One of these albums where all the credits are for "production" and "mixing". A lot of talent here but to me the stewpot of Electronica generates something with the soul severely muffled.
Not bad to be honest. Not something I’d listen to and prob won’t listen again, but it had good points.
Lovely voice. Able to draw a picture to bring you into the world
Very lush R&B Pretty substantial considering how "girlboss-pop" it is I liked the song Enough Could warrant another listen, considering the bad listening environment I listened to this one in. This kind of well-produced album deserves the aural space to let it shine
Rather generioc
pretty good i didnt expect me to like it wow
Perfectly pleasant. Entirely unmemorable. As average as it comes.
Over all good listen for music that is not my norm.
It's been a long time since I've listened to a contemporary R&B album that I didn't dislike, to be honest. This album feels a lot more intimate and it is helped by the remarkably languid beats and floaty synths throughout the album. With electronica influences from the decades beforehand and here and there a little Prince throwback this is a listen best done while lazying on the couch with your headphones.
Soul. Aburrido.
The production on this album, largely by Jam City and Arca (with Ariel Rechtshaid! which meant I was very likely going to like this album), really shines. So much so that Kelela’s vocals—which are good and add a quality of tenderness to the brash-at-times production—take a backseat to the production. Ultimately, I preferred the Jam City-produced tracks over Arca’s. LMK and Truth or Dare we’re highlights. This album made me want to switch over to Tinashe’s 333, so that’s what I’m listening to now that I’ve finished Take Me Apart. 3/5.
3.5 stars. Creative album that goes beyond the standard R&B genre. Standout is "LMK."
3.9 + Part of a raft of excellent alternative R&B records that have been popping since the aughts. I think Kelela holds up against other acts like FKA Twigs in terms of exciting electronic sonics blended with gorgeous singing. However, similar to FKA Twigs, I find her sound icy, icy cold. Within the genre I gravitate more towards artists like Blood Orange, Sampha, Frank Ocean and SZA. Standouts: "Onanon", "LMK."
Cool, kind of chill vibe.
day 16. woah, a recent one! I'm not at all familiar with Kelela (or really, R&B in general). I found this to be a pleasant listen and the production is solid, but I don't know that it's particularly memorable. Her vocals aren't particularly distinctive. And I started to get a bit bored in the second half with a lot of the songs bleeding together and getting more ambient. but some of the songwriting is pretty good and I like the overall vibe. my faves were Frontline (by a lot), Onanon, LMK also why is Bluff her #1 song? it's 1 min of filler ... I don't get it ... 3/5, it's just alright for me, not running to get back here
I forgot to take notes on this album, but I remember thinking it was good chill background music. I actually listened to it twice to see if anything stood out. I think there was some song I liked more than others, but nothing really jumped out. I think this was a debut album, which is impressive, which might be why it's on a top 1,000 list.
Had this on while working. All the songs kind of blended together, but not in a bad way. Just nice soft pop/hip hop that flows together.
This is not my usual genre of music and honestly I've never heard of it or her (which doesn't surprise me one bit) but the production is fantastic and so Keela's lush voice. The lyrics um, could make me blush
Good but not my style every song is slow
It's slow, rhythmic, with an underlying energy.
Doesn't sound all that special to me. Sure there are some nice bits, but kinda meh.
If top 40s-ish artist thought about going ambient. Could be worse. Production is clean, and it's unique. Not really my jam, but worth a listen simply for it's originality. While the rating may seem like I don't care much for it, I did actually enjoy it quite a lot
Pop comercial. Ni fu ni fa.
Fine, vibey. Easy to work to, but nothing sticky or hummable.
It was nice, and if I was a 20 year old looking to get laid I'd put this album on.
Best Song: Enough. Beautifully layered vocals. Busy/noisy in a good way. Worst Song: Truth or Dare. A bit too contrived in its sweet/sexy theme. Overall: Nice, chill background R&B, although there's also nothing that really sticks out or feels memorable about it. I could imagine throwing this on in the background for a relaxed vibe, but not for targeted, intentional listening.
Kuuntelin ja ihailin tätä jonkun verran ilmestyessään, mutta ei tästä ihan klassikoksi lopulta ollut. Alussa on pari biisiä, jotka todella toimii edelleen. 3,5/5.
Vähän tälläsen modernin Pitchfork Best New Album-poppiksen ongelma eli ihan hyvä mut vähän tylsä. Ehkä en oo kohdeyleisöä. 3/5.
Ok, not my favourite but a grand listen.
Enjoyed the electronic parts, which kinda outshone the vocals. JUST STOP SINGING. But no, she did not stop singing. Not that it was bad singing, it was just interfering with that sweet, sweet electronica I wanted more of. Slick production, though.
pretty smooth with interesting instrumentals. 3.
You wonder how much the editors really think you must hear this before you die given they removed it from the book immediately after a single edition. I feel ill equipped to rate this album, I've grown to like many examples of genres I previously wrote off in my youth, but modern R&B is one I'm yet to find an example I genuinely like. First two tracks of properly average R&B in, and a glance at the running time and I'm thinking, this could be the first one I'm tapping out of early. That said, the title track is pretty great. So there are ideas here. Ok, it has my attention. Enough is equally interesting. Ok. This is not an R&B album, more a beat-based soundscape with an R&B tinge. Wait. Another bog standard R&B song. The singles here are a disguise. Stop doing this! Either be good or be shite, please pick one. Her new album was just released this week, I wonder if she picked an approach. I guess out of the singles, LMK is at least a little interesting. Ok no, I think this album is just teasing me. There aren't any more of the cool soundscape songs until Turn to Dust, which is again really nice. There's half of a really great album hiding in here for me. The rest is interesting for an R&B album, but that's what it is, and I just don't really go for that.
This was fine. Seemed pretty average to me.
Not my style but beautiful voice.
Weer zo'n plaat waarvan ik niet begrijp waarom ik deze moet horen. Niet zoveel mis mee hoor. Maar een 13 in een dozijn-plaat. Geen missers, geen uitschieters.
Het is net als met de top2000: recente nummers of albums moeten nog maar bewijzen dat ze enige eeuwigheidswaarde bevatten. Het is allemaal best hippe zang op een hippe beat en het luistert op zich prima weg, al wordt het op het eind toe wat pretentieuze eentonige aandachtstrekkerij, maar wat vinden we hier over pakweg 10 of 20 jaar van? Maar afgezien daarvan, het is wel weer iets waar ik nog nooit van had gehoord. Nu dus wel, dankzij de 1001.
Ok
Listens: 1 Enjoyed: it was alright Not really for me but I appreciate it's pretty good. The beats were pretty cool and I'm surprised if never heard of it
Some cool vibes, but nothing special
3.25
R&B with a flavor of glitch and techno. Wish it was a bit more unique, and not sleepy. Would probably slap in a club remix. Melodies are interesting and but sometimes disappointing
Not an unpleasant listen and she can write a tune, but it's too long and quite difficult to focus at times.
Started good, then it got boring
#/5 -
it sounds like something that’s good but just not for me
I was not previously familiar with this artist but I ended up really enjoying this album. It's just f-ing sexy, there's no two bones about it.
Average but bloated pop album, great production though and kelela has a great voice
Pretty good R&B album. Every song felt the same as music in the background
I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I'm generally not a fan of R&B, but as I listened to this, I realized it must be because I'm burnt out on late 90s/early 2000s R&B. The complete lack of male rappers interjecting with an unnecessary rap verse was refreshing. Coming in at 54 minutes, it did start to drag a bit for me in the last 15 minutes or so. Overall, this album has good vibes and I liked the production.
I almost went with 4 stars but felt it overly generous. Great voice and talent, interesting production and it feels very modern. Not to my tastes and a bit dark and unmemorable though.
The production on the opening track caught my attention, and then again on the title track. There is a lot of original synth chords etc. and overall sound changes, with the dozen or so producers. Onanon is my favourite song, I think. She could have used the occasional rapper to spice it up.
Not bad, just not interesting
The highlight is the dark and harsh production with elements of retro synthwave, which reminds me a lot of a weaker FKA Twigs. The R&B singing style is nice and echoey, which works well with the unique production, and is reminiscent of the R&B style that dominated pop in the 2000s (think Alicia Keys). It's too long and a lot of songs sound too similar, but there are a few standouts, and there tends to be something impressive in the effects that grab my attention in most songs. Favorites: Frontline, Take Me Apart, LMK, S.O.S, Blue Light
Great combination of electronic music and R&B. Back in the 90s, this is what I pictured R&B sounding like in "the future." Pretty strong songwriting, even though this genre is not really my jam.
Chill, slow
Was willing to give a 3 at first but somewhat boring
T3B 1. LMK 2. Onanon 3. Frontline