Reviews (page 6 of 8)
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!!
Meh not for me
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 ⭐️
Incredible, very good harmony between R&B and Electronic
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.
Surface, shiny surface from someone really talented, which is more of a shame.
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.
Tightly produced enough that the whole album feels like one track evolution. If you liked it, that would be good. But it's not speaking my language. It's not bad. I just find it really boring. Niche music. And definitely, ABSOLUTELY no idea why this is essential listening. Probably purely academics
Look, this artist is totally new to me. Nice voice. The music is okay. The problem is she never gets out of first gear. So, subsequently, I got pretty bored waiting for something startling to happen. I played it through again. Nice background music, but nothing that I found at all thrilling.
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.
The production is smooth but one song blends into the next. Boring to get through.
Pretty good chilled out music. I have never heard of her before today, not sure I would go out of my way to listen again but not bad. Probably good for background music while working or something like that.
Take Me Apart is massively overproduced, which detracts from Kelela's voice, and that's a poor decision. The whole thing is a bit too whimsical and dreamy to really grab me, it's a dull 2.
Yeah, this is underwhelming. There's too much synth and tuning, the vocals aren't forward in the production in the way they should be when you've got a voice this good, and the end result is a bit drab, there's nothing to grip on to and it doesn't work together to make anything more than pleasant enough music to have half an ear on. 2/5.
There are some good moments, but the production is mostly so washed-out that it sounds like I'm hearing a song from the club next door.
This album came with a ton of hype from critics and publications like Pitchfork, but I think it was more praised for the idea of what it was supposed to be and the fact that it was released on Warp Records than for the actual music. I get the cool concept and the appeal of being on Warp, but when you strip all that away, the album is mostly just boring. Some of the production had its moments, but it wasn’t as innovative or futuristic as it aimed to be. Plus, her vocals didn’t do it for me. The tracks with strong production would have been better without her, and honestly, the whole album might’ve been better without her vocals altogether.
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
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
Why? 1/5 17/8/24
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.
uma vibe meio música de elevador, não é ruim, mas chama pouco a minha atenção de uma forma geral.
Like the vibes.
Generic. Nothing special.
Barely gets out of 1 star territory. Just barely.
Une production léchée, fort jolie voix.
Blind album and artist. Boring snoozefest of R&B that I don't like
Alright, just not great.
The album is all about relationships and how to handle them, without being too whiny about it in her lyrics. Amazing sound and also intelligent lyrics are being used by her. It also sounds like a great influence to future albums by different artists like Chloe x Hall.
This album sounds like 100 other R&B albums. Very meh.
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.
Add this to the never heard of this album / artist list. Talented enough to get an album deal. Good for her.
I thought this was boring, generic, and repetitive. How it made this list is beyond me.
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.
wasn't terrible but just not my style.
Solid alt rnb
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.
R&B is good, and this is R&B. But as an album unto itself, it’s not noteworthy
good voice, bad everything else
Nothing to get excited about, same boring rhythm and fades into dreary background music
MOTHER
love her voice. probably wouldn’t listen again though
But blagh
I've been waiting to listen to this album! I see the album art lots on the review blog. It lived up to expectations! Great singer, entertaining songs without much substance I was interested in. Frontline and Waitin were my favourite songs. I would have cut a few songs from this album, ~10 minutes maybe. I liked the whole thing but I had my fill before the album was over.
Bland but inoffensive
The production is really really nice, but very often overshadows the vocals, which I'd say are decent but not amazing. I think it goes for creating a specific chill/sexy vibe over truly making content with a message. I know that is for some people but it's a negative aspect for me. 7/10
Overall, I didn't find this very interesting nor reason to revisit. Singer does have a nice voice though.
I am usually not a fan of 50+ minutes of R&B, but Take Me Apart is inventive and playful with its' clever production and use of electronical elements. Kelela obviously has a great voice and uses just enough of her potential without becoming showoff-y.
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.
Wonderful R&B album that is innovative in It’s musical arrangements and vocals. Incredible use of backup/supporting vocals throughout the album. She has a wonderful voice and uses it stylishly.
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…
Adult contempo with an edge
Boring af
Chill album, very easy to vibe out to.
Eh, good production but kind of whatever
Didn't mind this tbh. 2.64
Wow, voz y presencia en una artista desconocida para mí
First class production, and I have a feeling that this will become even better on multiple plays. Has a strong SOHN vibe. Favourite tracks: Jupiter, Better, LMK, Turn to Dust.
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.
Hot black chick with a decent voice sings over boring, mediocre production. I would have no problem dying and never had heard this album. Can't really say much about it. Not recommending it to anyone unless you want to take a nap. Like her name though...1.0.
Threw this on while making dinner. Early on I was down with what I was hearing. Unfortunately by the 5th song everything started to sound the same. I felt like I was hearing a the same song over and over. By the end of the album it was hard to care about it at all. I would have taken Kelela for a couple singles but I didn't need anywhere near an hour of this. Not sure this needs to be on the list for any reason. 1.85 stars
Someone has a case of the samesies.
This one does not need to be on the 1001 album list. The production is good but not mind-blowing for being from 2017. I tried to actively listen to the songs but it quickly dissolved to background ambiance. Her singing style is soothing and it's nearly impossible to focus on any lyrical content
noh olen alkanut hyväksymään tätä 2016 jälkeistä poppi r&b kuiskutusta joka kuulemma tarkoittaa hyvää laulamista?? noh ok... sielutonta ok artifisiaali intelligenssi kopioi tyyliä erittäin helposti on merkki siitä kuinka omalaatuista on heh... joka toisessa biisissä on jotain kiinnostavaa, lisä bassoa, lisäääbassoa!! onko vaikiata??? bassia lisään... eikä mitään fl studio add bass, vaan otetaan se kontrabasso niihin sieviin kätösiin ja näpytellään, ja sitten mööpelillä nostetaan napeilla 300% volyymi siihen... ei ole niin vaikeaa?? noh ihan hyvä albumi mutta unohtavahantata se on, en muista nytkään... mitää--- missä olen?? mitä vittua??? KUKA VITTU SÄ OLET???????? MITÄ,,, MITÄ VITTUA TAPAHTUU;,, SELITTÄKKÄÄ VÄLITTÖMÄSTI... take me apart
Fantastic album. I wouldn’t put this genre at the top of my list..generally. I have listened to Take Me Apart 6-7 times over the last several weeks. It is a great album to do office work to. Frontline grabbed me immediately. I’ll revisit for sure.
Definitely a lot of early 2000s R&B vibes, and she has a really nice voice
Bored out of my mind after the first 5 tracks. In the top 1,001 albums of all time? You gotta be havin' a laugh 😂 This is one star, mediocre, average stuff.
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
what??
I found this pretty bland and uninteresting. Every song sounded the same, and it the album couldn't keep my attention. Did not finish.
Wonderful album, a great discovery for me
Oddly good. Janet Jackson vibes
Great. Really enjoyable. Great vocals, great production, great songs. Low 4
The most generic waste of time this far on the list.
I'm always happy to see albums from Warp Records on this list as they have a long history of innovative releases. Kelela's 'Take Me Apart' is no exception. The blending of electronic music and R&B works flawlessly and gives both genres so much needed variety. 'LMK' is the standout track and centerpiece of the album. For my taste, I'd have preferred the rest of the album have a bit more of a punch to it, but I appreciate it's hard to do that while maintaining an R&B grounding. Regardless, it's an interesting album and has me interested to hear more from Kelela.
Kinda pedestrian for the 1001.
A pleasant enough listen, seems like a typical bit of late 2010s genre mixing
Chill background music for work.
I'm vaugley familiar with her work. It's never really interested that much.
It's deep, it's dark, it's complicated, it's... over-produced. Kelela is listed as "Executive Produce" on the album, but is not referenced anywhere else findable at this time as a producer. Wikipedia lists her as a Singer. Every song on the album has an average of two additional writers and two separate producers and in such, takes away any sense of honesty in the album. As a whole, I'm interested to listen again. Whether to hear more of the lyrics or try to experience the more of the overall feeling that Kelela and company put forward, A big step for R&B towards the future, but loses some of what makes R&B great as a genre
Futuristic soul, R&B, and electronic music with cool vocals, thick layered and atmospheric sounds. Very cool album that probably would take multiple listens to really catch all the details.
She is no Janelle Monae....this was overly produced and very very OK at best. Nothing memorable.
Nothing to love Nothing to hate Nothing memorable at all
What trash.
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.
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.
Another hot one from 2017 that is an excellent album but could also find 1000 (and 1..?) other revised edition additions
Production is stunning, her voice is beautiful, but the songs have no life in them. Feels like every one was just written to "be a hit," when really none of them are. I don't believe the songwriting, and I didn't need to listen to this.
Not my kind of thing so perhaps I'm not qualified to comment, but this seemed technically accomplished but joyless
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.
3.75
Awesome evolution of R&B, not for me, but massively talented
I respect the fact that this is a genre, like with hip-hop and rap, that I just have no connection with or deeper understanding of. R&B has never been at the top of my list in terms of genres, and while I know of its impact on the people that care about it, it has never been my thing. That said, I can understand why this album is here. Kelela is an artist with a vision and that sound and vision are portrayed on this album well. And the production is absolutely top notch. But I’ll admit that, after a while, the songs kind of started to overlap in my head. I couldn’t tell one from the next, and that isn’t because they sometimes transition seamlessly from one to the next. It’s because the mood and tone are so consistent, perhaps too consistent. I’m not out here reviewing this as an expert music critic or a purveyor of R&B. Far from either. But I just didn’t connect with this hardly at all. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, just means it wasn’t made for me. And that’s fine. I give this 2 stars to represent my feeling of disconnectedness, not as a comment on the music itself. Standout tracks: Frontline, Take Me Apart, Jupiter, Better, Altadena
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.
It started out with a good groove and then turned tiresome by the end. She has potential but needs stronger songwriting.
What’s with the random electronic music? It sounds like a jam is playing in the background while she is singing a different song. Kelela has a cool voice but it drones on much too long with little change in inflection. I didn’t get this one.
If I wanted to listen to mall music I'd go to a mall.
How is this an essential album? Feels like every other similar album from the time.
Good, but not for me
Didn't really care for most of it. Liked Frontline.
Not bad. Didn't give it a fair crack though. Life etc. got in the way.
Not mine - but good pop music
I didn't enjoy this album. All of the songs on the album have a very similar cadence, and each song just seems to be. No emotion, there's no tension and release in any of the songs. She has a great voice, but this music comp wasn't for me. 2/5.
Du bon RnB, moins mémorable que dans mes souvenirs, mais ça reste un bon album. 7/10
Yes to the vocals. Yes to the lush soundscapes. Yes to the pretty melodies!!
Got about halfway thru. Not my thing.
people call this cutting edge but it is only sometimes. I find it mostly just enjoyable for its vibe
Ethereal, enjoyable but no stand outs for me unfortunately.
I'm still fighting through this as I write, but this is awful. It's not got a single song on it. Just aimless warbling over a drum machine with the odd little wibble wobble synth sound in the background. One song of it might work, but a whole album of it is torture. Only critics like tuneless rubbish like this.
It was fine. Not sure why it's on the list tho
Some interesting grooves and sounds but not enough. Clean up your language honey!
Pretty decent
Interesting sounds but not many tunes
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"
No me gustó mucho
Great voice
I don't feel the love at all. Nondescript rnb...with a tight production but meh.
No strong opinions good or bad on it. Easy listen while working. 3/5
I thought this was a new album to me but apparently I have listened to it before. Kelela’s clearly immensely talented but this style of slow-jam R&B unfortunately doesn’t appeal to me much. It’s pleasant while I’m listening but doesn’t make enough of an impression that I retain much of it after listening. I do remember liking her 2023 album Raven slightly better.
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.
Kinda boring 2
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
Me gusta su estilo de R&B. Y estaba en lo correcto cuando comencé a escuchar este disco el 2017. LMK es una de mis favoritas.
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
Solid voice but the music didn’t really grab me.
Voice and vibe but didn’t do it for me. Can see influence on sza etc
Might be brilliant in its type of music, but never could stand this too slick music without any spice.
Not for me, kind of nothing music. 3/10
I liked this! Like ambient music but dialed up to 11.
Mhmm, yeah!
Nice!
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
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.
LMK and Frontline were standouts
Beautiful voice!
More people should be talking about Kelela. It’s rare these days to find a debut so melodically rich and self-assured.
"LMK" and "Frontline" were OK, but the rest didn't hold my attention too well. The sound reminded me of some of The Weeknd's mixtapes, but the album turned to be more recent than that...
Yeah not for me. A song here and there weren't horrible but an entire album was too much.
björk x beyonce oft uninspiriert
Fucking hell. 🤦 This shit is for any sad fucker who's still rocking out to TLC's "No Scrubs" or Janet Jackson's "Again" or Destiny's Child's "Bills Bills Bills". Outdated dross. Unoriginal & boring from start to finish. This is music made by committee. Mass produced, assembly line R&B garbage. Cookie-cutter banality that I've heard 1000 times before, and will undoubtedly hear 1000 times again. Kelela has the most generic 90s/00s voice, singing the most generic 90s/00s lyrics, over the most generic 90s/00s computerized instruments. This is an exercise in mediocrity. An album I'd expect from the winner of The X Factor, and the corporate parasites who run that show. I can only imagine two sincere reactions to Kelela's "Take Me Apart": disappointment or indifference. 👎👎
This is the music you hear in a clothing store that caters to teen girls with vanilla style. Boring with a side of meh. Quite a nice voice but dreary songs.
objectively good and well made but really just did not grab me at all. i really liked LMK but the rest of it did not have enough of a melody for me… what a great voice though! four stars for quality even though i do not feel like i will be revisiting it
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.)
Man, her voice is good. Plus, the production is pretty good as well.
It’s a really nice 4. This album gives a really bad first impression through its first 4 or 5 tracks, but the stretch from Better to Truth or Dare presents the actual mood of the album so much better. LMK should have been the opening track, because the trap-hop beat on Frontline just gives the wrong impression for this album overall. Relistening to those first 4 tracks after finishing the album the first time gave me a really strong appreciation for this album overall. Kelela’s vocals on this entire album are fantastic, and this album is at its very best when just she flows on the electronica-infused beats. I can understand some of the complaints about this album, but when it all finally starts to click, the little details in the production become more apparent as the album goes on, and the sort of dullness that the first 4 tracks give gets washed away (at least, it did for me). It’s crazy how much this album improves by Better, seriously. There are some filler interlude tracks, some of the songs do go a bit long, but what ends up being here is some really cool R&B tracks with a clear Janet Jackson influence in the vocals, and a sort of “lo-fi Timbaland” feel to the production, and it just clicked incredibly well for me. I feel comfy with a 4, and it might even bump up to a 5 the more I listen. Glad to get this one.
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
This is bullshit. It's not terrible, but it is utterly forgetable.
Only thing this is good for is making you horny. Repetitive. Would listen to this solely for background sex music. Beautiful vocals though. Would just appreciate more meaningful lyrics
Inoffensive background or bedroom music. Nothing piqued my interest. One star for an album an you should listen to in your life, but compared to some absolute turds on this list I give it two stars
Sounded quite 90s
Quite nice really
Aburrimiento atmosférico
Slick. Too slick for me.
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.
Stam
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.
Meh.
Pretty voice
The production and overall sound is great, but it wears thin after even one song, making for a very boring album.
this is genuinely one of the best albums ive ever heard
Deeply uninteresting
Нихуя не понятно, почему это тут, но очень интересно. Аранжировки такие пресные, что все песни смешиваются в кучу. Короче, не моë
Good voice but the album just goes nowhere, if you like one track you'll like them all as there is a total lack of variation. It's a 3 star for her voice but 1 for the material.
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.
This type of vocal centric smooth R&B is definitely not my typical genre. This album was decent background music, but didn't feel super original or interesting or groundbreaking. Very soulful.
Insipid and one-geared. Really dull and uninspiring. Zero stars, if it were possible.
This was great, never heard heard of her. LMK especially.
She has a very pleasant voice. The way she harmonizes with herself is silk smooth. Everytime I thought there was a moment where I wasn't really feeling it, the album took a turn to make it good again.
Das kann ich nur bestätigen: 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.
Pretty voice against some basic synths. Boring.
A relatively modern album. R&B/Soul from 2017 - sometimes can enjoy this kind of music so will see. Quite enjoying this so far, might be a 4.
this really isn’t for me, but she does have a nice soothing voice.
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.
This is exactly what would be playing in a chic women's clothing store while my wife shops for leggings. This is probably a good album if you like R&B Electronica fusion which, I don't.
Yawn. This sounds like every other song/album being made right now. Not my thing. Next!
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!
Ejj... Det lyder godtnok ens.. Albummet har været en meget opdelt omgang for mig, men det var følelsen af at høre det sammen igen.
Lækker stemme men den fanger mig ikke ind - nogle små glimt af noget der kunne lugte af trip-hop. Dog uden kant og noget til at drage min interesse mod det. Jeg har svært ved at høre hvordan det adskiller sig fra alt det RnB der er kommet ud i metermål de sidste 30-40 år. Kedeligt og endte som noget det bare kørte i baggrunden.
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.
It’s the same variation of a song again and again
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’m putting this squarely in the evening chill category. Its got just a little too much dance vibe to be a morning chill album. Welcome to how my brain works.
Great sound, but it is like listening to a Janet Jackson album but then without any catchy songs.
Apart from a good sound there is not much to enjoy about this album.
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.
It took a bit for me to get into the groove here. It never totally embraced me, but there were some moments and overall, it was good.
This grew on me as I listened. An interesting fusion of electronica and R&B.
I kind of liked the airy, laid back feel of this album. Some really nice songs, although by the end they were blurring together a bit - made me realize that longer isn’t always better. This isn’t my usual fare but the production was good and the sound sumptuous - so I’ll round this up to a 4.
Altedena was a refreshing track, the rest just isnt for me?
something i don't need
easily listenable, no stand outs
Not my thing
The overbearing production can't hide the mediocre, forgettable songs. 2/5
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.
Didn’t like it
Eh kinda bland
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
If you’re new to R&B, this might be the perfect starter album. Very good blend of sounds and great performances on every track. It can get boring at times, though.
Not really my thing. Kelela’s voice is beautiful. The music is only interesting a couple of times. Otherwise it’s just repetitive drum loops and I get bored. 2.5/5
Genuinely forgot I was listening to this most of the time I had it on
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
Gillade inte. RnB är inte riktigt min grej
Not bad. Was expecting some generic R and B but the electronic additions were quite nice and made this worth listening to for me.
A solid 2 mainly because of her voice. She can sing beautifully and the production elevates her vocal, the music plays second fiddle to her. I can’t imagine any situation where I’d play this album again, as it’s just not my thing, but I completely respect her talent. Just wish she’d sing something I’d like 🤣
Never heard of Kalela. Electronica R&B? It was 'alright', nothing particularly special. The standout track was 'LMK', it looks like she and her label must have thought that too. I'm sure with repeated plays and a careful study of the lyrics, it will bring out the subtleties of this record, and then one would appreciate its inclusion to the 1001 albums. However, I won't doing either any time soon. It gets a low 2.
Not a standout album for me but she's very good.
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
Silky and sultry voice. Slow beats. Solid chill background music.
Ikke lige mig.
Meh. Solid 2, not for me
Music for shopping malls, this is just well produced muzak.
She has a nice voice. Lyrics were a bit much and trashy. Most songs sound the same and very repetitive words in songs.
Repetition. She just needs to be more diverse in styles
That was awful. Every single song for the 53 minute run time was about a relationship or just sex. There was nothing else. Is there nothing else going on in her life or in the world that she could have drawn inspiration from? The album felt incredibly slow and just plodding along, was super boring. Musically nothing happened (mainly because the only instrument was a keyboard) and lyrically it was just the same things over and over again. This was just not an album I needed to listen to before I died. It's supposed to be revolutionary or so the critics say. How? Is it revolutionarily bad? I think I'm actually worse off for having listened to this album.
after you've heard the first few tracks, there's no real need to hear the rest. but you will hear them again & again since all the tracks sound the same. she gets a 2 star just because she has a decent voice.
I liked the more I listened.
Otho would like it, but not for me lol
I quite enjoyed this artist that I hadn't heard of before
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.
OK. More on the R&B side than electronic
A nice modern female R&B record, with well-placed layers of gentle electronica throughout. Great voice, good production.
Not really a fan of this one. The beat choices are somewhat confusing and not at all a smooth listen.
"moderni" r&b ei toimi, ainakaan Kelelan versiona. Oli aika järkkyä kamaa..
Tosi basic. Kriitikot näköjään tietää paremmin, mut sen perusteella ei multa heru pisteitä
A recent album that Iv never actually heard of. Probably just isn’t my type of music but this really did nothing for me. Not sure why it’s on the list, I’d bet it’s removed in future versions of the book.
Nope. Not my thing.
Pleasant enough to listen to, but utterly unmemorable.
No thanks
2/5 didn't really stick.
Decent voice. Not particularly my vibe but not terrible to listen to in the background. The album did seem to go on forever though because each song was extremely similar to the last. Well mixed though as the drums didn't overwhelm the songs too much.
Sommige nummers erg fijn sommige nummers een stuk minder
Hele vette unieke sound zeg
Would listen again if in the right mood
Felt fairly generic, didn't connect with it, she had a good voice mostly covered with reverb.
ANOTHER electronica album? WTH! The author of this book is determined to make electronica happen in my life. : ( This was just more of the same with a different flavor, this time soul/R&B. It was a musically bland, empty, overly long, BORING slog where everything sounded the same. No thank you to this album or any more electronica.
Bah, normal. Agradable. Electro-R&Balternative R&Belectronica. Un 3
I don't know what makes this album worthy of being on this list or any different to a million other ones of this genre.
Cool album, can't say it left much more of an impression than that
Like I'm in the sexiest strip club and the stripper loves me, for real this time!!
271223 12:39 4
This was alright actually.
soundtrack of every ride share i’ve ridden in nyc
Never heard of this artist, but surprisingly good. An urban Lilith Fair participant.
one of my all-time favorites
This is an album I guess.
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
Altså da instrumentale e litt kult innimellom, men fortsatt kjedelig af
местами как шугабейбз, но слишком рнб, не моё
Three listens, liked it more each time. Sweet voice, cool groove, nice.
Achei meio normal, sla, nada que tocaria em qualquer playlist sem copyright
Ah nem que coisa mais genérica, o vocal e o fundo nem combinam, enjoado xoxo sem graça. Definitivamente não precisava ouvir isso na vida
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.
Who? Why? A little bit Sugababes A little bit TLC A little bit Eternal A little bit derivative A whole lot of dull I think I’ve had Enough right now
Vanilla/sterile/color by numbers Uninteresting
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.
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
Really enjoyed her sound! Will listen to again
Brassa r&b, pràcticament insoportable
Nice album with nice beats
decent men långtråkigt
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.
R&B isn’t my usual listening. Saying that, this album sounds like something I’ve heard a million times before with more polished production, probably due to the recent release date.
Kind of a mix between Bjork and black female soul. Definitely more interesting and "progressive", for lack of a better word, than most soul and R&B I hear. The actual music itself was unique. But that being said, it just wasn't for me. Something about the vocals just absolutely is not my style. The sounds were mildly interesting, but the music did not move me.
Great. Did not think it would be this good. But it genuinely is very good.
Torture
Pretty bland
Wow this is a sexy, glittering, ethereal album. The soundscapes are very open, eno inspired synth atmospheres.
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
This sounds like the score to every late-night HBO movie. Her voice is fine, the music is fine. It's just fine.
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.
boring
Very good. Nothing outstanding or unique, but good.