Take Me Apart

The arrangements are as conventional, predictable, abused and traditional as possible, as proven by the singles LMK and Frontline. It's really well produced and pleasant to listen to, but a 1001? (5/10) FT: Blue Light, LMK

I wasn't too into this album when it initially dropped in 2017 - "i dunno about the hype here. Kelelda doesn't really do much different to my ears - maybe im just jaded with alt RnB as a whole now. Too many clichés here" - and I haven't really been swayed after listening again. Not sure why this is on the 1001 albums list over the dozens of other FANTASTIC contemporary RnB albums out there

Pop comercial. Ni fu ni fa.

Bah, normal. Agradable. Electro-R&Balternative R&Belectronica. Un 3

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

Not my style

pas mon style le rnb

Not too bad for me, tho no sparks.

Mostly harmless

It sounded ok, didnt listen to it intently, more as background

no

The album is just the same shitty song playing again and again. Utter garbage.

Good chill party music

There was not a single track on this album that made me want to listen to it again. Haven't done any research on it but not sure how it made this list.

1.5 - I found this album neither particularly enjoyable nor remarkable. I’m not sure why it was included in a collection like this. It struck me as rather basic, if somewhat overproduced r&b.

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

Cest original, mais tres loin d’etre mon style franchement, 2,75

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Waitin, Take Me Apart, LMK, Truth Or Dare, Onanon Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Took me an embarrassingly long time for me to realize these were songs about sex and desire but once that clicked I saw the vision #whowantme

It's probably good for people who enjoy this kind of music but it's not for me.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Frontline, Onanon

6/10

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

Not for me

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

didnt really enjoy the music production is nice, if i ever relisten to this is for reference best song: LMK

I skipped over this when it came out because Kelela featured on one of the few mediocre tracks on Danny Brown's Atrocity Exhibition (an album that should really be on the list), but this is starting out extremely strong - and I'm not a fan of R&B in general. Interestingly, this album is not in my version of the book, which is the most recent update, so I have to assume it was cut despite only being four years old. I would think the editor would cull older albums, many of which are redundant or dated instead of cycling through new additions. Seriously, we don't need the full Byrds discography, especially at the expense of pivotal newer albums. Music is a living organism, constantly evolving, and the list has a terrible track record when it comes to 21st century releases, omitting important releases from Swans, Death Grips, Run the Jewels, Danny Brown, Sophie, Mastodon, and, well, basically anything remotely heavy. I don't think there's any metal on this list after nu-metal collapsed in on itself. Hell, it looks like they cut Fever Ray's self-titled too, and that is one of the best albums of the 21st century. This list is atrocious. Goddam embarrassing.

This was so boring.

You're taking me apart, Kelela! I got tired of this after 15 minutes. They really jumped the gun on adding a 2017 album to the list. Nobody will be thinking about this one in 10 years. Best track: Better

The production is godlike

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

Cover, Stimmung, boudoir‘esque Intimität erinnert mich an Wild Beasts’ 2016er Album „Boy King“. Anderes Genre natürlich; eben Soul jedoch durchaus davon ferneres Sound Design (Two Step & Breakbeat, weite Soundscapes) wirkt Kelela angenehm anti-generisch. Ihre Stimme nahezu immer unverfremdet und echt. Eine Seltenheit. Imposante Synergie aus Stimmeinsatz und Klanggebilde („Enough“). Gegen Ende wird leider arg geschwächelt. Kathedralische 3.8

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

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

Kelela was not known to me before today. I assumed the album must be something that was either bigger in the UK (which it wasn't) or a surprise hidden gem. A quick wiki suggests that it had a lot of critical buzz in 2017, which I guess I somehow missed? Anyway, I put this album on while doing some work and then suddenly it was over. I have essentially no recollection of any of the songs, other than a generally pleasing R&B sound. Given that I tend to enjoy this style of music, I will try to go back at some point and give it a more contemplative listen.

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

Did they just randomly pick some albums from the 20-teens? Adding R&B to electronic music doesn't improve it.

Nice voice, chill or lounge

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

Terrible.

Bah, normal. Agradable. Electro-R&Balternative R&Belectronica. Un 3

I am good.

Her tone remains the same all the way through. Mellow enough, but so boring with no tonal shift. Disappointing after all the plaudits.

Nicht meins…

Fällt nicht negativ auf

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

Oh I'll take you apart Kelela.

This really isn't me.

Electronica dubstep dance party Kelela yes, trad r'n'b Kelela no. Far too much of the latter on this.

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

Warp-style electronica plus R&B vocals. Meh.

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

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

Ikke helt min stil men god produktion

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

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