Reviews (page 7 of 7)
Neither the R&B side, nor the electronic side of this album really brings anything special to the table. On top of that, I feel like I've been listening to the same song for 53 minutes. Overall, it's painfully generic, boring, and utterly forgettable. It sounds like the kind of thing I should be hearing in a hip corporate coffee shop, not on a list of 1001 albums to hear before I die
empezó muy bien, pero ahí se quedo. me pareció un poco insufrible terminarlo.
Meh
This might be my least favourite genre of music. There is absolutely nothing to grab on to. Just sounds like random sounds and beats with floating vocals. The production is crystal clear and she has a nice voice, but the music is horrible
ake Me Apart is an album that perfectly encapsulates everything I struggle with in a lot of modern music. It is immaculately produced, hyper-controlled, and emotionally distant, sounding less like someone expressing themselves and more like a mood board brought to life by committee. Every track feels polished to within an inch of its life, yet somehow hollow, as if all the human friction has been carefully sanded away. The songs drift by in a uniform haze of minimal beats, breathy vocals, and restrained tension that never actually goes anywhere. There is a constant sense of waiting for something to happen, a shift, a hook, an emotional release, but it rarely arrives. Instead, the album circles the same muted atmosphere over and over, mistaking restraint for depth and subtlety for substance. What should feel intimate just feels anaesthetised, like vulnerability presented behind glass. By the time it ends, Take Me Apart leaves me feeling nothing except mild irritation. It demands focus while giving very little in return, offering vibes instead of songs and cool detachment instead of emotional risk. I understand why it appeals to people, and I can see the craft involved, but as a listening experience it is joyless and inert to me.
I complained about my Valentine's Day gift last year, but I would give my right nut to have that one over this disaster. What is the point of an album that is just incoherent lyrics over random beats in the background? Why does almost every track sounds the same,? Why blend this boring version of R & B, and Electronica music? Why is a vast majority of music in the 2010s absolutely terrible? These are questions that need answers. Favorite Track: "Onanon".
boring
I don't even know what to write about this album—I'm so shocked that such shallow mainstream pop made it onto the list. Music like this is usually hyped up for a few weeks and then, after a year at most, no one remembers it anymore. I gave up after four songs because it's just annoying, but apparently there's at least one music journalist who voluntarily subjected himself to it a second time... Anyway, tomorrow there's bound to be another album worth listening to.
No private session used for Spotify. The album cover gives me...feelings; however the album gave me other feelings such as "why?". The music blends electronic and R&B, neither genre I much care for and this mashup just makes things worse.
02/02/2026 This was a struggle to rate it any higher than a 1. It was a difficult listen. Spotify listeners: 586.5k
dnf
Pretty sure I did not need to listen to this, was so excited to see something not from the 60's and 70's, and.. no, this wasn't for me.
Generic early 00's R&B. There were no standout songs. Her voice was nice, but nothing that seemed different from a lot of what was being pumped out at that time.
Holy shit is every song on this turd of an album exactly the same? I genuinely could not tell the difference between any of them except for 'Enough', which made me want to rip out my eardrums. Why is this on here? I can think of so many better picks of modern R&B than this. A 2 was probably the fair choice on the thing but you made me listen to an hour of the same song and the fact I couldn't finish this so you get a 1.
How is this on the list
Exactly what I expected it to sound like. Sounds like all the others to me.
I was listening to this in my car and I was so embarrassed I had to roll up my windows. Felt like I was shopping in a Zara.
мені не сподобалася, всі пісні схожі одна на одну, прослухала і навіть згадати не можу якусь хоча б одну пісню, яка запам'яталася
1.5 - not for me
Because winter is always warmer when you're around. One of the cheesiest lines I have heard in a while. But that happens when the producers have a cache of songwriters to choose from. This is just not my thing, I dont have the patience for artists who have very little to do with their albums but sing, and where you have a team of people writing your music and songs to try and get the next hit. Furthermore, can this team write anything other than love songs. Does this artist do anything else to sing about, or is their life just filled with constant love?
Hated it. Shit beats and annoying everything else. Decent voice.
gay
bleh
Oh boy I am really not the target demographic for this. Beautiful vocals, shimmering production and some interesting modern beats but this is really not my genres - I don't know if this is better than the next R&B (is that what this is?) record. At the risk of sounding like an old man, this whole record sounds the same.
Modern-day R&B that thinks that vocal mannerisms are an acceptable subsitute for actual melody.
Meh
This is what I imagine all the clubs I don’t want to go into sound like. I didn’t really hate it until about halfway through, so maybe a twenty or twenty five minute run time would have been ideal.
The production on Blue Light was pretty cool, but otherwise I found this a pretty unremarkable RnB / pop album and I don't think it really belongs in the 1001.
Why exactly this is on the list?
It’s just not my kind of music. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great. It’s all very one note and monotonous.
This was disappointing, I really wanted to like this but it just felt so uninteresting. Nice voice and good production but just so boring, I was waiting for this to be over by the third song. I don’t know what it is but it almost felt soulless to me, missing something
Dear list. I appreciate you bringing me some more contemporary fare to broaden my horizons, but will you please desist it with the chav sex music. Let’s just leave this shit to teenagers smoking weed in their Mum’s Fiesta in a car park.
Frontline 2.3 Waitin 2 Take Me Apart 2.2 Enough 2 Jupiter 1.6 Better 1.3 LMK 1.6 Truth or Dare 1.4 S.O.S. 1.2 Blue Light 1 Onanon 0.7 Turn to Dust 1 Bluff 1 Altadena 1.4 Score: 1.478571429
Absolutely not
Not for me
In a select group that are lucky there's no zero stars option.
Album 863 of 1089 Kelela - Take Me Apart (2017) Rating : 1 / 5 Described as Electronica/Soul, it just does absolutely nothing for me. Not to sound cliché, but I see no reason for this album to be on this list - none. It feels like a cross-genre experiment that, for my ears at least, simply didn’t work. I can respect the effort, but it’s not one I’ll be revisiting.
Every song sounded exactly like the previous one. There is nothing special about this album or any of the songs. It's a perfectly plain album with no soul to it.
1,5
Reminds me of a poor man’s Morcheeba. Repetitive and vapid. Avoid.
1. front - 1.5 2. uuaiting - 1 3. take - 1 4. enough - 1 5. jupiter - 1 6. better - 1.5 7. lmk - 0 8. truth - 1 9. z.o.z. - 1.5 10. blue - 1.5 11. onanon - 1 12. duzt - 1.5 13. bluff - 0 14. altadena - 0 NOT ONE GOOD ZONG , UUTF
I think there are a lot more albums that would represent R&B or electronic R&B better than this. Beautiful vocals but thats all there is to it. Lyrically it provides nothing. Though it apparently made the list for being experimental, I would say its basic and overdone (or maybe just not done right?). Maybe in another lifetime I will appreciate this. Vocals are great tho!
Shit pop
This may be my bias because this was my senior year and I could think of so many better albums and artists who were putting out music in 2017, but this album had nothing unique or special about it to make this list. Her voice was good but it was nothing mind blowing. I found the album boring and redundant. Overall, this album was not Mika Puff Tee.
++: Enough +: Waitin, Take Me Apart, Jupiter, Truth or Dare +-: Frontline, Better, LMK, S.O.S., Blue Light, Bluff, Altadena -: Onanon, Turn to Dust 3,7/10
This is not for me
Albums I would hear playing at Zara (derogatory). Didn't have it in me to listen all the way through.
Eeeee. It was the R&B equivalent to listening to elevator music.
Debut album. Electronic / RnB. This is a very tightly produced album. I'll give it that. However, musically it doesn't change in tone or pace at any point. It goes nowhere. A boring collection of monotonous shades of beige.
Man, this all sounds like one long song. And it's a song I would not willingly choose to listen to. She's a good vocalist. The production is good enough. But this has been one long slog to get through.
Eww no
Only made it halfway through. Every song sounded the same.
Pass. This, like most modern R&B, all sounds the same.
point9.
NOW! That's What I Call Music for duck-faced teenagers! Old grey doesn't get it, sounds like commercial churn to me. All warbling and ASRM appeasing toss.
nope
This is the 34th album I’m rating. I don’t know who this is and I’ve never heard of the album. Based on the cover I’m assuming this is like Janelle Monáe. Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Not Adding to my Playlist - Frontline, Waitin, Take Me Apart, Enough, Jupiter, Better, LMK, Truth or Dare, S.O.S, Blue Light, Onanon, Turn to Dust, Bluff, and Altadena. Frontline - I’m very disappointed this sounds so basic. All in all I liked 0/14 songs. This is so boring. It feels like something you would hear in Walmart. How can something be this boring?
I will admit to not being an R&B guy at heart, but this is not my music. And this is not the best of R&B, Mr1001. It’s full on dragging and down tempo in the worst way. It’s boring. It’s boring like Gershwin wrote songs about my cat, eating yogurt
This didn't hit with me at all. I can see how this can be enjoyable, especially as background music while focusing, but it just is not for me. Too mellow, with no real texture that would grip me, so I glossed over it without anything to note.
Let’s goooo it’s over Rating: 1.3
So basic.
Bland mid 2000’s r&b
The production and backing music was a little interesting, just enough to scrape 2 stars if the generic singer had been better. But she wasn't, she was awful, so only one star from me.
Little expression in the voice. Songs too pleasing, no R&B vibes come across when listening.
I praise the production team for making every song sound like the one that came before it, and making me question my ears.
This album cover tells me all I need to know about the album...I just know I'm going to hate it (I was correct). Contemporary R&B mixed with electronica. Like Mariah Carey mixed with Usher club music. That fucking breath-y half whispered bedroom music but with a dance beat. R&B always sounds like it's sung by someone who is actively BEING banged. I don't need to hear that shit. Omg, I can't take more than like 2 songs on this shitty album at a time. That was absolute garbage. I feel dumber for having listened to it. Fuck this whole genre. Favourite songs: LMK, Frontline Least favourite songs: Enough, Better, Jupiter, and the rest of this dumpster fire 1/5
Trite shite
Definitely not for me. I couldn’t get into this one. I gave it a second listen in case I was distracted. Just not for me.
This album sounds like all R&B albums. It could be anyone, singing anything. Very meh. This one is particularly bad. I have no idea how it made the list. Favourite song: I couldn’t pick one Least favourite: All tracks Album artwork: Meh
Super generic. Sounds like every other bland R&B artist from the last 20 years.
Not for me. I did finish the album though Will I listen to again: 0%
"LMK" was a really good song. The rest of the album was middle-of-the-road singing backed by what sounded like an overproduced Enigma album. I wouldn't put this album on the list of "must hear" from the year 2017 alone.
Perhaps my most unfair one-star, and I recognize that this album could really hit the mark as something for others. Its smooth, candy-coated exterior is complimented by its gooey exterior that isn't dissimilar to acts like Sade, but with a modern coat of paint in the production and lyrical content to make it a truly definitive modern R&B record. However, I just find it incredibly tepid. Nothing here ever aims to do anything to get my gears actually working, or to even remotely interest me, and I just find it BORING. I know that tends to be a no-no word for music, especially slower stuff, as it doesn't define any issues I have beyond a surface level, but it is hard to help to feel anything else. I found myself completely tuning out before each song had even hit its halfway mark, and I paused the album entirely to take a break, as my eyes were glazing over, and I needed to refresh. That just isn't something I do with music normally, and for an album to disinterest me that heavily is something fierce. Songs meander and feel like they're dragging their fit so that they don't have to show the next song, which is assuredly just as sleepy. It has structure, yes, but that doesn't stop every song from seemingly going nowhere and everywhere at the same time, and it just seems scattered. Not helping is the runtime, which is frankly unnecessary, especially when there is very little variation amongst this album's tunes. Perhaps this could be something sexier, but then I can only think of better acts to cover that niche as well, leaving this album feeling uninspired on top of the boredom claims I'm fronting. I get why someone would like this, and I even understand praising it, but to me this just seems lethargic and my initial lukewarm feelings quickly developed into disdain over the course of an hour, feelings I can't really shake.
2/10
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
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.
Why? 1/5 17/8/24
Blind album and artist. Boring snoozefest of R&B that I don't like
I thought this was boring, generic, and repetitive. How it made this list is beyond me.
Nothing to get excited about, same boring rhythm and fades into dreary background music
Boring af
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.
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.
The most generic waste of time this far on the list.
What trash.
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.
Yeah not for me. A song here and there weren't horrible but an entire album was too much.
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
Aburrimiento atmosférico
Нихуя не понятно, почему это тут, но очень интересно. Аранжировки такие пресные, что все песни смешиваются в кучу. Короче, не моë
Not my thing
Genuinely forgot I was listening to this most of the time I had it on
Gillade inte. RnB är inte riktigt min grej
Repetition. She just needs to be more diverse in styles
No thanks
Ah nem que coisa mais genérica, o vocal e o fundo nem combinam, enjoado xoxo sem graça. Definitivamente não precisava ouvir isso na vida
Brassa r&b, pràcticament insoportable
boring
R&B, schnulzig
Too slow for me
First I could not finish. Not for me
???? Pants
not my thing
nie
fuck it is really boring. tracks dont even differ from each other and it sounds as a mediocre modern rnb. Crap shit. The voice is good but the lyrics are so identical and crappy.
很普通的R＆B
Not my genre to be fair.
Didn't connect to it at all. It was just background noise to me.
Absolutely bored, couldn't finish it.
Idk it was like ehhh what is this? Instrumental was good but vocals didn’t carry it
Même 20 minutes j'aurais trouvé ça longuet.
R&B - not really my thing...
Not my style
It sounded ok, didnt listen to it intently, more as background
no
This was so boring.
Terrible.
I am good.
This really isn't me.