Reviews (page 3 of 15)
Not for me
Todella mielenkiintoinen levy ja todella hieno tunnelma. Alkusoiton aikana tuntui niin kuin alkaisi katsomaan elokuvaa, konseptialbumistahan oli kyse. Levyssä on todella hienosti yhdistelty erilaisia genrejä ja Monáe on taitava laulaja. Kuitenkin levyn pituus alkaa jossain kohtaa väsyttämään ja erilaiset genrekikkailut alkavat tuntumaan itseääntoistavilta eikä varsinaisia huippukohtia jää kovin montaa mieleen. Kokonaisarvio voisi vielä parantua, jos levyn kuuntelisi kiinnittäen tarkempaa huomiota lyriikoihin. Arvostan kuitenkin levyn musikaalisuuttaa, tarinan juonta ja mihin lyriikoilla pyritään ottamaan kantaa.
Cool variety of music in this album. A good pop alternative to regular top 40
Hella sci fi vibes. Big fan! I liked the first half of the album more tbh but good overall! Very unique sound
I can’t believe I haven’t listened to this before. Janelle Monae deserves more respect for her creativity. Maybe I’m misremembering but even at her peak in the mid 2010s she never gained the attention I think deserved. Great album.
wow that was an experience. nailed the concept of an album
I would not have guessed that critically acclaimed debut pop album in 2010 would be a concept album based on Metropolis… fun and exciting all the way through This might be the first ( in this project ) concept double album that does not need to be trimmed to 1 from 2 albums
Dude ya. This was a wonderful time listening to the full album for the first time. Janelle is such a dam treat. Her voice, her vibe, her voice (poetically) mix of style, honestly, passion, it's all so beautifully laid out in front of you. What an amazing journey of an album 5+
A good record that was like crack for music scholars when I was in grad school
There are interesting and unique ideas here, but it ultimately holds no weight nor remembrance to me.
Interessante, parece até um musical. A música que eu mais gostei, Come Alive, nem é uma das mais famosas. Fiquei de cara com a voz dela, nem conhecia ela. Eu ia dar 3 estrelas por que não me imagino ouvindo novamente esse álbum, mas ele é tão criativo e diferenciado, de um jeito que me chama muita atenção, que vai merecer um 4.
3.617625
This insane album completely blew me away the first time I listened to it a few months ago. It's got this great narrative running throughout. The musicality is off the charts, and the production is phenomenal. Monae's voice is absolutely stellar and addicting to listen to. Each song on here has its own personality and influences. You can tell what the inspirations were, whether its Prince, Simon and Garfunkel, Michael Jackson, or Outkast, but it makes the styles its own and works them in beautifully. I really love when albums are a culmination and celebration of so many genres of music. It's such an entertaining and wild ride, which is why I've come back to this album so many times.
Monáe takes us on a highly satisfying journey with her sophomore album, and I should say the seamless transition from one song to another is just as immaculate as her jumping from one genre to another. The overall jazzy and funk inspired sound album is definitely a stand out and it’s a very high quality album overall. The charming production kicks right in after the first Overture and the rest is just a masterclass in both musicality and vocal performance. Favorites: Dance or Die (feat. Saul Williams), Faster, Sir Greendown, Cold War, Tightrope (feat. Big Boi), Wondaland, Make the Bus (feat. Of Montreal), BabopbyeYa
This is a very average album
No Just No
Very cool album and beautiful blend of old and new sounds. The first few songs were 5/5 for me then it got a little too trippy for my taste. Overall very enjoyable
dette var skikkelig kult!!!!! følte fra første låt at keg kom til og like det også blei æ litt redd for at æ hadde for høye forhåpninge men wow veldig nice. minus for noen sanga som æ syns blei for corny og hørtes litt libresse-reklame ut
Extremely impressed by the sprawl and musicianship of this album even if it is probably not something I'd return to much.
I know this deserves more of my more attention and is at least worthy of another listen. It's good. But realistically, I probably won't come back to it. File under, "music I would happily listen to with a friend." 3.49 stars, just barely scraping a round up to 4.
This is a hugely ambitious debut, with the sprawl inherent to such an undertaking. Is it all essential? No. Does it need to close with six- and eight-minute songs? No. But like her hero Prince, Janelle Monáe doesn't do anything small. As with her other stuff, I'll save the songs I like and skip the rest, while appreciating the ambition that created all of it.
The first half of this album was excellent, second half fell off imo
Мне это вообще не понравилось. Абсолютно не мой жанр музыки. Какой-то overproduced поп, который пытается выглядеть немного умным, но по факту унылейший... В общем, фигня
Not at all what I was expecting
A truly eclectic album- it’s really a work of art how the production team was able to crossfade and fold each track into the next- going from showtunes to psychedelic rock, to pop, to soul, to the… Plain White T’s? The album is all over the place in a good way, and the majority of the tunes are quite enjoyable as it hip hops between genres. It does run a little long in the tooth, but I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best wel kut gewoon
Verassend leuk
I am a sucker for a concept album. And this one was really fun. Great mix of upbeat pop and lush orchestral tracks. She has a great voice. Very good
enjoyable
Incredible.
Fantastic!
Hyper-ambitious concept record overflowing with ideas. The music is a synthesis of pop and R&B stretching back to the 60s but still sounds exceedingly modern. The songs on this album are beautifully constructed with well-chosen chord changes. Monáe also expertly fits her vocals each to each song; her relatively straightforward style rings true emotionally on every track.
Favorite Tracks: - Dance or Die - Faster - Locked Inside - Neon Valley Street - Make the Bus
It was a very good album. It is not really to my taste, but I really enjoyed the last track. Perhaps I could grow to appreciate this genre more.
Generally good, a couple weaker songs but mostly enjoyed. Quite theatrical in places but liked that element
Doom arigato
This album is great. Janelle's voice, the effortless blending of styles, the guests, production, ambition. I knew Tightrope was a banger, but this album is wall to wall with them. It reminds me of Little Sims, Sometimes I might be introvert in cinematic production. It could be a few tracks shorter.
An incredible album. Janelle Monae rarely disappoints imo. The style and flavor of this record is so enjoyable. Many times you should lean into the urge to get up and dance.
Wow this one caught me by surprise! Such a fun and over the top concept album. Super clean production and vaired instrumentation that has that big band feel but it's subdued enough where it doesn't get exhausting to listen to. While I definitely prefer to first half over then second, this is still something I'd go back to as a whole quite often. 4/5
La verdad a mí gusto fue muy aburrido, sentí todo tan monotono
++: Dance or Die, Locked Inside, Tightrope, Oh, Maker, Come Alive ( The War of the Roses), Mushrooms & Roses +: Faster, Suite III Overture, Neon Valley Street, Make the Bus, Wondaland, Say You'll Go +-: Sir Greendown, Cold War, Neon Gumbo, 57821, BabopbyeYa -: Suite II Overture 6,9/10
Come Alive was excellent. I also enjoyed Tightrope and so many others! Overall, this is a great album. I will listen to it again. Very unique and fun! Her voice is gorgeous!
Kult dette, Tightrope har jeg hørt før. Ikke helt treff på min smak så blir med en 3, men ser absolutt appellen.
Enda bedre live. Kult. 3-4
Сара 4,5 Марко 4,5
Creativity tour de force
This is such a fun and adventurous album
Not my thing. Not completely terrible though. Glad I finally got a female, non-rock artist.
it's like a fun summer blockbuster movie. it's fine. once. would not care to revisit. post listen edit: it's like that blockbuster movie that is way too long and you couldn't wait for it to end. this is just not for me.
Beep. But also sometimes boop.
This girl can do everything. Great mix of music styles, yet keep a cohesive theme throughout. I would have never picked this out if not for this project.
A surprise! Somehow, I never even heard of this album, but it was great. I'm usually not a fan of R&B, but this has some quality that won me over.
Very good
Pretty interesting album. I liked it
Good 3. It's really special but I struggled to connect sometimes
Not for me.
Honestly this is quite interesting for contemporary r&b album, however I don't like the production at all and her delivery is frequently quite boring, so just 2 stars, but could be worse. Seems to get better on the 2nd half so maybe 2.5 on RYM
Every musical genre is on her debut album. She is incredible. Glad to see her recognized on this list.
Muy sorprendente,una mezcla de todo.
I love her. Are her albums full of filler? Yes, but it's pretty interesting filler. A song like Make the Bus executes proggy turns that would make Queen proud. This is Monae getting all her half-baked ideas out before buckling down to the great albums to follow.
A bit long but engaging
Mostly upbeat neo-soul ear worms.
An extra point for that little bit of Satie.
I've wondered why Janelle Monae isn't a bigger star. Singing, composing, acting, and dancing all seem to come naturally to her and she excels at all of them. Giving this one only four stars because I think her subsequent records are even better.
Just a bit too much dicking around to keep this from being a 5.
Started mediocre became awful
Never heard of this (or her). A mixed bag of songs and styles - but on the whole positive. Might listen again at some point.
Strong open, one lull, at least three surprises, will listen again
disco-pop album. it has nice drive and melodies, sometimes it's too repetetive. it has a combination of disco, pop, african-american things and western stuff
very grand soundscape reaching out to probably every (?) genre yet is somehow as cohesive and accesible as a single genre/texture album. Not necessarily my taste, but Oh, Maker stood out to me as a clear indication of how talented this musician really is.
Now this is the good stuff. I'd heard snatches of Monáe's work before and was vaguely aware that their work was built around a science fiction Metropolis concept, but hadn't fully listened to an entire album. Now that I have, you can definitely hear all the influences in here, there's definitely undertones of Prince and both Janet and Michael Jackson in here. I'll be honest that I didn't really follow how the concept all tied in, but ome songs like "Dance or Die" were just absolute bangers.
Good album, cool afrofuturism sci-fi concept, nice groovy beats.
really interesting and was surprised by how good it was. Not really my thing though
Now that’s how you do a pop album! Very interesting and unique
Saw the cover and thought I cant be arsed with this. Got it wrong thought as its great! A lot has gone into this. She's great! Banger and ballads all over this album. Mushrooms and roses, 57821, say youll go are stand outs for me, but the whole album is class.
Was decent. Very 'produced' though. Her live stuff seems good to see. This is pretty far away from that. Shes got a bit of an understated vocal thing going on which i like. Feels like she could yope more if she wanted but holds it back for special occasions. Tightrope for instance. Really liked Neon Valley Street. Too long though. The last few songs felt like some sort of Andrew Loyd Webber Musical audition. Just pissing about at that point.
Pleasant enough
Great, didn't know this one, and it's indeed a great album!
What can you even say to describe this album? As a debut album too? This masterpiece is spectacular and I can physically feel the love and passion out into this record
Espectacular voice but kind of boring album.
Los 2000 hecho disco
Gr8 4.5 if I could. We'll see how I feel about it when the newness factor wears off
Pretty nice
(6/7) fun stuff
enjoyed it! i had her previous album on my ipod but never followed up. 3.5
God I love Janelle Monae. For being from 2010, it's not aged nearly as cringe-ily as one might expect
Seeing the Tightrope music video was always totally enrapturing and I love Janelle Monae completely but this album does start to drag
very good i need to relisten tho
3.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/janelle-monae/the-archandroid/ Quite cool, but also absolutely too long. Ballzy to do that for your first album, I do have to admit. I really like a lot of the songs quite a bit, but then there are also too many songs that do nothing for me (as is often the case with 60+ min albums).
There are a lot of bangers. She has a great voice. There's a mix of throwback soul and modern RnB with some indie rock sounds. A terrific album
A modern R&B album from the perspective of an android? I approached this with a lot of skepticism and was delighted to be proved wrong. Monáe has an incredible voice as a singer and both dexterity and humour as a rapper. The writing was compelling and heartfelt and the record took me on a musical journey through hip hop, funk, soul and some hints of folk. It’s a bit of a kaleidoscopic record. I had mixed feelings about the autotune on Mushrooms and Roses but the guitar was great on that track so I’m not mad.
this was awesome and the reason for carrying on with this project. Something I hadn't heard before and interesting enough to make me want to find more for the artist
Songs flowed very nicely but didn't particularly enjoy the music itself
отборнейший шлак ладно neon valley street еще более менее
locked inside машурм норм wondaland bobopbyeya dance or die блин ваще я завайбился В процессе дня были прослушаны повтроно вышеназванные треки и было принято решение отказать в выдаче двух звезд
im sure this is great to some but it's not made for me and that's OK
Didnt feel in the wave of this yesterday :(
Fun
Masterpiece.
not my type but its ok
eh
Loved ot
I like this, I really do, but I'd be lying if I said I got what most of these songs were about on my first listen. That never took me out, per say- the hooks never stopped hooking and the beautiful production never stopped being beautiful- but I think one of the down sides of listening to a new album like this every day is that certain things are worth gestating on. Attack of the killer genre-fusion poppy concept record from outerspace? I'll relisten to this at some point soon.
Een naar boven afgeronde 4 sterren voor mij. Knallers van jewelste, maar ook wat net-niet nummers, het schrappen van 2/3 nummers had misschien geholpen daarbij
Dit is een van mijn favoriete albums tijdens mijn middelbareschooltijd. Ik weet dat het flaws heeft, maar voor mij is het nostalgisch en tijdloos. Cold war is één van mijn favoriete nummers ooit
Zo fucking veel bloat. Janelle Monáe is echt een toffe artiest, maar dit is gewoon 2 keer zo lang als het hoort te zijn. Nummers als Tightrope en Come Alive zijn top, maar ze krijgen geen ruimte om te shinen tussen tientallen minuten aan B-side materiaal.
Probably the coolest album we’ve had rather than the best.
Very interesting! Big pool of tracks I like and some I think are okay.
Weird in a bland boring way
Damn this album was just non stop bangers, might even be a 5 on a relisten
album #55 whilst it's a 4★ for me, it is definitely a 5★ debut album. janelle monáe is an artist through and through, and her work is incredibly deserving of its place on this list. this album is unique, grandiose, and fantastically crafted! i love the storied aspects throughout - the way every track works together to make this beautiful, alice-in-scifiland painting. i love janelle monáe, and this has only encouraged that! ꩜ average track rating: 3.7/5 ꩜ favourite track(s): cold war, come alive, mushrooms &roses ꩜ least favourite track(s): say you'll go ꩜ album rating: ★★★★☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,034 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 31 (+1 The ArchAndroid) ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 12 (+1 The ArchAndroid) ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 43
A tale of two halfs, the first one amazing, full of range and vigor, but by the end of the record I am exhausted and ready for it to be over. I recognize the ambition and I tip my hat to her ambition, but yeah it doesn't align perfectly for me. I guess half is fair, cause we need an editor in there but her vocals are stellar
Full disclosure, I stopped listening to this halfway through. There was nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me. 3 Stars because I know that's what it would get. Thanks for trying
Just wow. Wow. This is absolutely exceptional. The genre-hopping, the vocal power, the sheer unstoppable energy of it! I remember back when this came out, enjoying it, but I have no memory at all of it being quite this brilliant.
My wife laughed when I said that I think this album suffers by not being able to see her, but I didn't just mean she's attractive. I meant that her performance is so VISUAL and her dancing is amazing. I've never said the same thing about James Brown though, so maybe she has a point. Janelle was at Bonnaroo one of the years I went (before she had gotten quite so huge) and I regret not making a point to see her. I'm sure whatever I saw instead was great too, but that was a real missed opportunity.
Not my cup of tea
I haven't listened to this album, and I think I only recognize 1 or 2 tracks by title. This is interesting and I enjoyed it, but it's maybe just shy of a 5.
Instantly interesting and rewards re-listens. Deep and enjoyable.
hmmm. this didn't work for me very much. stylistically it's all over the place in terms of janelle monáe's inspirations, and conceptually that's interesting to me in a way that i would expect to like but i just... didn't? it's just fine. there's really good pop songs like "wondaland" that are total bangers and relaxing ethereal tracks like "sir greendown" for instance, but i think if anything much of this was just Too Much for me. there's just a lot of everything and i don't know if congealed together for me. i respect the creativity and the ambition but it feels like they took every single impulse they had and stuffed it all into this one album. it obviously works for a lot of people but it did not for me.
Damn, I should've actually listened to this before now. This was great! It has like, all of the things I like in an album. It's a concept album with a unique concept that bounces between genres whilst handling all of them so well. I definitely now get why she went back in time to see Ziggy Stardust because this is very Ziggy coded. There's a sliver of the British pop scene that almost reminds me of Lilly Allen slightly in a weird way (an interesting choice for someone who is not British, but I guess she's wearing their influences on their sleave here), and then combined with all these other different influences- it kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the what the next song would be. This is a great album to be on here, because the album listening experience itself is so great. The first three songs being so varied and yet coherently working together on an album is an encapsulation of what I love about this.
There are so many ideas and experiments here. Every time I heard a new section, fresh with promise, I had the same anticipation fall over limply and amble into another melody-less fashion house ad backing track. It's like a name check of classic genre tropes, but without any substance or weight, a theater kid's idea of a grand concept. Which makes it so much worse because my god can this girl sing, and there are some amazing production and arrangements, on top of a reluctance to follow through on any musical ideas, it's a wildly inconsistent mix that legitimate makes some songs almost to harsh to listen to. If there is actually a theme here, musical or otherwise, it's not conveyed in any meaningful way. Style over substance, but the style has no substance.
Andre 3000 and Frank Ocean merged to form an archon, and the resultant extra dimensional being identifies as a woman with cybernetic enhancements.
Так, это определенно будущая пятерка. Но мне надо быть уверенным!
This is what they call afrofuturism. Sério, a variedade de texturas que a Janelle apresenta aqui me lembra um pouco os álbuns clássicos da Janet Jackson. Só que... alguém aí sabe se ela algum dia vai concluir essa narrativa?
ah yes. the era of bad digital patches/samples, and Big Boi making an unwelcome appearance. Don't get me wrong, outkast is great, but the whole thing of him showing up for 10 seconds of lyrics for a check got old quick. Other than that, the album is pretty decent, actually.
Nunca juzgues un libro por su portada, este álbum me lo demostró más que nunca, porque su portada no me llamaba la atención para nada y no tenía fé de lo que me iba a encontrar adentro, fue todo lo contrario. Todos los temas tienen algo interesante y muchos son obras increíbles de distintos géneros que Janelle mezcló de forma impecable con su voz magnífica, se pueden encontrar con arreglos orquestales hasta ritmos jazz con electrónica, sin dudas una obra maestra.
I love it when an album I've never heard of blows me away, and this did exactly that. There's so much going on here that I don't have time to review it all, but just know that this is one great r&b album
not my style
Better than I expected.
Algunas si, otras no
phenomenal
Is good
really well produced, but not always interesting
Ee
Far from my taste, totally new artist on my radar but was quite entertaining and good. Liked it.
Not sure I've ever listened to any of her music before, very cool album.
Who? I feel like I've heard of her name before, but I have no idea. Suite II Overture - cool but I assume unrelated overall. Dance or Die - would have done numbers in the 1980s I think. Fun song. Faster - very fun, noice. Locked Inside - wouldn't be a proper album without mentioning genocide, ya know? Sir Greendown - obligatory downtempo to space things out, some tones were interesting at least. Cold War - and we're back with something upbeat. Like the electric guitar later on, but it's a nice song altogether. Interesting lyrics from what I can pick up. Tightrope - not as keen on this one, anything mentioning "haters" is always gonna be mid at best, and idk if I needed the rap at all, it brings down the song relative to what was previously on the album. Neon Gumbo - for a song with such a provocative name this is SADLY just an intermission. Oh, Maker - it's OK but didn't quite land, at least not now, didn't catch my attention. Come Alive (War of the Roses) - SCHIZO MENTIONED?? Immediately a more evocative tune. Oh wait, no, why is she singing like that? I guess this was for her soul and/or artistry and/or to test herself, but it does lower the simple enjoyability of the song. Impressive length there I guess Mushrooms & Roses - oh no now we're in the ephemeral zone. It's alright. Suite III Overture - uhh yeah well uh transition. Neon Valley Street - the album has kinda lost me now, no strong feelings here. Make the Bus - what the hell? Figures it's a song about the bus that goes off the rails. Hah, get it? Realm of fantasy indeed. Wondaland - quaint, but I prefer the style of the earlier tracks, they really got me grooving and moving. 57821 - lovely song, instantly made me envision a beautiful Arthurian landscape. Say You'll Go - Uhhh Christmas-y? BaBopByeYa - James Bond-y? But then it keeps changing and transforming in unusual ways. Fun listen, evocative.
Absolutely, thoroughly, positively mind blowing. The amount of genre melding, how cohesively the album flows, the influences heard here, the atmosphere it sets up, it all works perfectly for its entire runtime. Janelle Monáe has made an easy fan of me for this album alone and I'll definitely be checking out her other material.
This is quite possibly the most ambitious debut album of its generation. There's no stone left unturned on this grandiose, sweeping album, which begins with a suite of cinematic opening credits and ends with a 9-minute multipart suite. In between those 2 tracks, Monae explores pop, R&B, funk, soul, hip hop, rock, gospel, jazz and even more as it tells a storry based on the Metropolis series. In that aspect, The ArchAndroid is also a concept album, both about that sci-fi series and a more general one about a robot that operates based on the love it experiences. The first 5 songs transition seamlessly into one another, and there's precious few albums that can match the energy and consistency of those 5 tracks across their own runtimes. Something similar happens in the middle and end sections, though the first 5 songs still form the best song cycle on the album (if you can call them that.) This album is a remarkable synthesis of innumerable disparate genres, all immaculately fused and produced together. It would be a nearly impossible feat for an artist to stand out among the crowd of musical styles, but Monae forms a distinct identity across almost all of them. My only gripe with this thing is that no song ever seems to stay in one place to make any one of the 18 songs here a true standout, so the album ends up sounding like a massive monolithic piece, and not always in a good way. Given its inherently maximalist framing, I doubt this album can disappoint, as almost anyone can find something interesting to attach themselves to in the songs here. This is inarguably the best album of Monae's career, and proves the old saying true: one has their entire life to make their first album, but only 6 months to make their next one. It's just a shame that Monae never reached these stratospheric heights ever again, as this album more than carries its weight in cementing her place in the pop landscape of the 2010s. Key Tracks: Dance or Die, Locked Inside, Come Alive, Mushrooms & Roses, BaBopByeYa
Diverse and interesting overall concept but at the end, nothing stands out as memorable. There's the aspiration to something musically much grander than a regular pop album but not the substance to support it. It feels like an extended high school portfolio with a load of expensive production trimmings stuck round the edges 2.5
Oh man is she a genius, breezing through styles and juggling them all with grace. Could easily be a 5 if it made the right length cuts or if the bottom half had a bit more flash to it. There's hardly a bad song though (I think Come Alive sucked), and besides her genre surprises, features like Big Boi and Of Montreal on the same goddamn album are insane. Probably gonna binge all her stuff now.
A very strange rock opera (that's what I'm calling it at least). It just didn't pull me in. Production quality and her vocals are top notch though.
The kind of album I might start really loving after a couple of listens, but for now this
So interesting — I can’t believe this was her first album what a showstopper Playlist add: "Neon Valley Street"
Because I don’t listen carefully to the lyrics and don’t like musicals, concept albums kinda go over my head: I’m assuming Sir Greenwood is importantly the story? But her voice is an ASMR experience for me. First half is better than the second half
I was moving and grooving to this but it's not really my taste
not really my style (5.5/10)
looooooooooove janelle monae. what a fun time. great gym music.
incredible rnb album. very groovy and deserving of a strong 9/10. First listen tracklist ranking: 1. Cold War 2. BaBopByeYa 3. Mushrooms & Roses 4. Tightrope 5. Dance or Die 6. Locked Inside 7. Come Alive 8. 57821 9. Faster 10. Oh, Maker 11. Say You’ll Go 12. Neon Valley Street 13. Wondaland 14. Make the Bus 15. Sir Greendown 16. Neon Gumbo 17. Suite III Overture 18. Suite II Overture
The first half of this album sounded pretty fresh but it kind of lost it's edge towards the end. Maybe shorter album would have worked better. Still quite groovy stuff and Janelle has really pleasant and versatile voice that covers many different styles.
Weirdly fantastic album tho totally caught me off guard. I was so ready to disappoint but no no no. I don't yet know how much I like this weirdness but quite much.
#386 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ Revisit? ❌ It's pretty, too long and too sprawley. I appreciate the choice of themes, but the ludicrous scope of this project does not gel with me. This album has elements of classical music, basic pop, soul, probably some r'n'b, but at some point I simply lost interest in trying to figure any of that out. It became background and quite soon I realised it was interfering with my flow and I simply stopped it. I wanted to like it more, but alas, 'twas not to be. weak 3/5
Retro mishmash never gets interesting.
Like it 3/5
Why has it taken so long for me to hear this album? The width and breath of her talent is amazing, very cinematic at times.
Day 265 Could have done with being a few songs shorter but really fun album Highlights Cold War Mushrooms and Roses Wondaland
Another surprise. Had it pegged as a 2 or 3 in the first half, and then it got way more weird and interesting and fun. There was a random Of Montreal song somewhere in there? Cool record.
Enjoyable but nothing super memorable for me here. I loved how all the different genres blended together. 3/5.
Was going to give this a 4 but upon reflection this is a 5/5 album. The range is incredible, the music is representative of Janelle Monae as an artist. Additionally if I find myself adding every other song to a playlist so I can keep listening to her music, that's a good sign
Certainly not bad but not that special or interesting to me.
Wondaland and Make the Bus were ok, other than that the whole album was incredible. It was a beautiful experience. Motown, hip hop, jazz, r&b, even some Sun-Ra in there. Great album.
Страшно непонятно, но вполне музыкально
I absolutely love Janelle Monae's Dirty Computer and her work with Of Montreal but this album just doesn't seem to reach those heights. It's fine but nothing super exciting for me.
This was actually pretty great. Going in, I was thinking this would be a light to decent 3, but it ended up being a high 3, light 4. Going 4 here, but probably my least favorite 4 so far.
Still really good. Wish I thought it was great.
so energetic and fun. I think this album quotes both Claire De Lune and Boulevard of Broken Dreams
There’s a 5 star 45 minute version of this
This album is so 2010, I love it. The 1st few songs was so up beat. When I get a car, I will be blasting 'Tightrope'. 'Oh, Maker' is so nice and the beat is lovely. 'Come Alive (War of the Roses)' is like a spooky song, I can play it at a Halloween party. Neon Valley Street reminds me of Lauryn Hill. 'Say You'll Go' is such a beautiful song. Overall 10/10, a beautiful album and I really love the cover on it.
8/10
Wowsers! She has some vocals. I love the variety of music & sounds, everything from rap to smooth melody to pop.
Really good!
I love Janelle Monáe’s other albums but this one doesn’t do much for me
Not my usual bag but really enjoyed it. A very eclectic mix of styles blended together with a groove / strong pop sensibilities and held together with a great vocal performance. A surprising 5. Incredibly accomplished for a debut - and a
The ArchAndroid Despite liking Dirty Computer a lot I’ve never listened to any of her other albums, so I’ve not listened to this before. I wish I had though as it is a brilliant listen. While I’m not necessarily totally sold on the more swing/big band inflected tracks like Cone Alive of BaBopByeYa, the imagination, eclecticism and sense of grand scope, while feeling thematically coherent and musically satisfying, is truly fantastic. Prince is a big influence on Dirty Computer, and you can hear him on here too, cherry picked alongside jazz, funk, rock, hip hop, prog, synth pop, classical and a bit of Bowie, Beyonce and Michael Jackson, making a genuinely unique concept-soul album. Although stylistically I’m not as keen on Come Alive I don’t think there’s a weak moment in Suite II, even the atmospheric interlude style tracks, the overture, Sir Greendown and Neon Gumbo are great, serving the concept. And the songs all transition well, the afrobeat feel of Dance or Die with its excellent bass, the duo of Faster and the Beyonce sounding Locked Inside with its catchy chorus are great. Cold War is a fantastic track, with a BoB style d’n’b drum pattern and a great chorus. Tightrope is equally good, I love the bass under the verses and the retro soul chorus and Big Boi’s appearance is great. I really like her vocals on Oh, Maker, the contrast between the gentle almost Parklife organ driven verses and the overwrought chorus works really well. And Mushrooms and Roses is superb, part psychedelic Beatles, part psychedelic soul, part Parliament/Funkadelic, part Prince. It sounds like one particular song I can’t put my finger on and it’s really bugging me Suite III overture is great, expanding on the cinematic/Bondian Suite II overture, and the rest of Suite III, while connected to Suite II is just as great. More Prince on Neon Valley Street, Make The Bus is a great pseudo 80s pop song and Wandaland is excellent, I love the lyric and the dreamy, synthy feel. There’s obviously a big Simon & Garfunkel influence on 57821 and it’s got a lovely, gentle sweep. The use of Clair de Lune in Say You’ll Go is great, and it has a very 40s/50s/60s film feel to me. As I say I’m not that keen on the big band elements of BaBopBye Ya, but I like the orchestral grandiosity and sense of conclusion it brings to the album. It’s really quite nuts for a debut album to feel so conceptually fully formed yet musically eclectic, while feeling like a coherent whole, and with such a sense of self assuredness and ambition. And while the concept does have a touch of prog to it, it is actually satisfying and interesting, and crucially it’s populated with a diverse collection of excellent songs. I loved this, both as set of songs and as an artistic expression, so its an easy 5. 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖 Playlist submission: Mushrooms & Roses
What this album loses in its overstuffed sprawl of styles, it makes up for in ambition and audacity. Hip hop, funk, pop, R&B, classical, Broadway, jazz, Bond themes and psychedelic soul all feature, yet somehow form a consistent album. The Outkast influence is obvious in the irresistible 'Dance or Die'; 'Faster' and (the excellent) 'Make the Bus', with funk guitars, jazzy like chord progressions or rapid but relaxed lyrical delivery (much like 'The Love Below'); and 'Tightrope' featuring Big Boi himself with killer bass (the basslines over side one are all excellent and Thundercat is another obvious comparison). Via the Outkast influence comes Prince and Bowie: funk and pop and a bit of theatre. The downside is that it can feel like she is trying to prove she can do everything. At over an hour, not every Broadway/jazz tribute feels needed. But overall this is quite the achievement. On paper it sounds like a mess but it's far more cohesive than it has any right to be (she had no right!). A fascinating album and I'm stuck between 4 and 5. The more I listen the more I think it's on the Monáe.
Buen descubrimiento El disco tiene canciones que parecen de banda sonora y otros muy tranquis para tener de fondo
2.5
Fine but too long
A couple of decent songs, and pretty in places, but too much filler. “Wondaland” is particularly poor. Oddly lightweight despite all the bombast
Surprising album. Good singer, a lot of creativity and different songs. Quite good.
Enjoyed that more than i thought i would
If I was given this blind I do not think I would be able to guess the era. It sounds completely unique and atypical to almost any decade. The end of Say You’ll Go incorporating Clair De Lune stopped me in my tracks. Absolutely gorgeous. An immense amount of creativity. Weirdness, beauty, and everything in between. Absolutely blown away, especially based on expectations. I think I need to listen 5 more times to even comprehend the whole piece. 5/5
Highlights: Suite II Overture, Dance or Die, Faster, Locked Inside, Tightrope, Come Alive (War of the Roses), Mushrooms & Roses, Suite III Overture, Neon Valley Street, Wondaland, 57821, Say You'll Go, BaBopByeYa
Dance pop is always fun
I liked this album a lot, it fit into my own personal tastes way more than I expected!
1) Suite II Overture - My favorite album opener so far. and then the transition into 2) Dance or Die is PHENOMENAL!! I literally gasped out loud hearing it come up after Suite II. I love it when music can give you those "wow" moments. 3) Faster - I really love the energy in this song! Monáe's vocals are SO crisp and wonderful. Thank you music 4) Locked Inside - UURRRGHHH THIS CHORUS! MWAH MWAH MWAH! This makes me want to dance down the grocery store aisle and I mean that in the best way possible. If this was the music that played at my job as a cashier maybe I wouldn't have wanted to quit. I have to say again that the vocals are so GOOOOOD!!! Buttery smooth. 5) Sir Greendown - Slowing down here, but that's not a bad thing! I'm really impressed with the range of this album. In my opinion, the best albums have both a range of sound AND a cohesive feel, and ArchAndroid is nailing it so far. 6) Cold War - "KELLINDOOOOO!!!!!!!" AND THEN THE GUITAR GOES CRAAAAZYYY YES YES YESSS! even with not liking this song as much as the others it's still really good! 7) t-t-t-tip on the Tightrope - i think that this song would make a good DDR map. It has solid rhythm. the album is DANCING! 8) Neon Gumbo - i am a SUCKER for reversed songs! 9) Oh Maker - huh! oh i LIKE THIS! the slower pace doesn't make this any less of a vibe! i reallllyyy like the way the song introduces itself, and it stays warm and wonderful the whole way through. Monáe can SING! my only fault with this one is the outro, but I think it might have been necessary to make this work next to 10) Come Alive (War of the Roses) - the other thing I have to fault Monáe for is the ableist language, which jarring at best, but it was also 2010. unfortunate because otherwise i REALLY LIKE the sound of this song, especially the guitar and the louder vocals. 11) Mushrooms and Roses - the intro is pretty solid, I like the percussion and then the voice effects are REALLY FUN. a classic Song About A Location. we love to see it. 12) Suite Overture III - similarly to the other overture, it might not be a song I'd listen to in any other context, but in the context of the album it works perfectly. I like the fuzzy sort of vocals. A much stronger song than the first overture. 13) Neon Valley Overture - the breakdown in this song is so GOOD. urghhh. and once again the guitar comes in clutch as the best instrument of all time. sorry i don't make the rules. 14) Make The Bus - oh this is FUN. lots of cool stuff happening with the vocals. kevin barnes was right to give this song to this album, it adds a lot to it! 15) Wondaland - this is so dreamy and peppy. wonderland indeed! 16) 57821 - I really like the echo-y sort of melancholic feel of this song. With all of the energy in this album, I think the slower bits really complement it well. 17) Say You'll Go - My least favorite song of the album, but still a good song. 18) BaBopByeYa - slow and confident and SMOOOOTH. a stellar way to end the album! i'm ALSO a sucker for songs that have several distinct Parts. this is a long song that EARNS AND RELISHES in its length! urghh. THANK YOU MUSIC. ArchAndroid succeeds at tying everything together despite each song sounding so distinct!! After a few albums I wasn't much of a fan of, this was a WONDERFUL surprise. this is absolutely something I would listen to again!! concept albums my BELOVED.
This isn't really my bag but I have to recognise talent when I hear it. Monae is not only a great vocalist but this is highly creative music that resists easy categorisation: it's kind of like "prog soul", freely genre bending to create a unique sound.
Okładka jest jedną z piękniejszych, jakie widziałam w życiu. Części instrumentalne naprawdę przyciągają uwagę i odnoszę wrażenie, że całość brzmi bardziej jak soundtrack. Mój mózg nie umie przyswoić, że to debiut. Niesamowicie oryginalny koncept, motywy science-fiction skradły moje serce i bardzo doceniam tę udaną próbę stworzenia czegoś nowatorskiego. Nie mogę się doczekać przesłuchania innych części z tej serii. Nie potrafię również stwierdzić, które piosenki są moimi faworytami, ale praktycznie każda mi się podoba. Po czasie mam wrażenie, że album przypomina Cowboya Bebopa.
The ArchAndroid is a record that is perhaps too ambitious for its own good. When it lands, the highs are incredible, but it’s also a flawed project held back by its length. It feels as if Janelle Monáe wanted to get all of her ideas out, and more often than not, it works. Even from the grand opening, the listener feels as if this is going to be something big. I love albums with scale, and this is one such project. It’s soulful, rooted in R&B, and often psychedelic. The transitions are beautiful, and the album really has everything. Even Big Boi makes an appearance. It’s also impressive how mature it sounds, even as a debut album. I went in with no expectations and found myself tapping along, pleasantly surprised. The best tracks are "Dance or Die", "Mushrooms & Roses", "Wondaland". I also liked the weirdness of "Neon Gumbo".
Wow. Might need to listen again to fully appreciate it.
Ok
Perplexed how this is essential listening Fave track: Cold War
Third, maybe fourth time listening to this album and I can safely conclude that I don’t really understand why this album is so well loved. Not sure what I’m missing. 2.5/5
Having heard this album since it came out, I think this is an absolute masterpiece. Janelle Monae is an incredibly talented artist. Beautiful voice, true performer, unique style, and just an all around delight to experience. Got to see her at a small show several years ago, and she was electric (lady)! She's small but she filled the space, commanding everything and everyone. A true powerhouse. When she first came on the scene, she was always wearing a sleek tuxedo and pompadour. Her style was unique and incredible. She's since mellowed out a bit in her career and personal style (with equally great effect), but back then she was a dynamo. Energetic and full of life. I love the composition of this album so much more than her others. It's bizarre, unique, and interesting.
Hooly shit! What an album. There are a couple of absolute stinkers on here, but the rest is fantastic! Best Song: Tightrope Rating: 8.5/10 Stars: 4
75
Eclectic mix of songs
Simply awesome.
Nogle fine ting også noget som jeg synes er knap så fed. Store og det hele ok.
*72 Oh shit, yes queen og alt det der. Janelle Monáe har altid været en weirdo. Havde ikke forventet dette album på listen. Der er nogle forbier i denne lidt rodede omgang, men toppen er rigtig høj. Vi er på en lille 4’er.
Det lød godt, men sikke en rode. Man kunne snildt have skåret 20 minutter af uden at forringe kvaliteten.
Indbegrebet af 'all over the place'. Et konceptalbum vil næsten altid bære én stjerne i sig selv for mig. Der er også nogle helt fantastiske enkelte slaskere på det her album, men der er godt nok også meget science fiction. 3.2
Aldrig hørt albummet før. Lidt høje forventninger efter at have læst om det. Nok lidt skuffet. Nogle okay numre uden det for alvor er noget jeg komme op at ringe over. Der er bonus point for ideen og ambitionsniveauet, men det føles også lidt forceret.
so cool! I especially loved the production of the overtures. bonus for the ofMontreal feature
Janelle Monáe seems like one of those artists who is so brilliant that she overcomplicates her music just to keep her brain interested. There have been a few artists like that on this list, and I've probably made that note a few times. She's not content to just churn out amazing pop songs. She also has to have string orchestra interludes, experimental tracks, and craft a narrative concept album about a runaway android. I remember feeling relieved a few years ago when she loosened up a bit. Her albums have been less pretentious lately. But even with those extras, there are still plenty of fun tracks here, especially in the first half. "Cold War" and "Tightrope" are classics in my book. I remember those songs really rocking my world when this came out. "Dance or Die" and "Faster" are really good too. And I've always loved "Wondaland" -- that was a song I used to like sneaking onto party playlists. It's such a bop. You could probably end the album with "Wondaland." That last stretch of songs is where the album gets particularly bloated.
There's a lot I like about Janelle Monáe, while also realizing that it's not totally for me. I do really like the genre bending. Some songs will have a chorus that sounds like a Beyonce tune, some songs sounds like indie pop rock, some songs sound like Amy Winehouse tunes. These are compliments, but I can't help but feel like it does spread her sound a little too thin at times. Like "Cold War" outside of a few specific vocal moments is a song that really doesn't work for me. She's of course theatrical, but on this tune it feels like fake theatrics if that makes sense? Its got that theater production perfect sheen to it, where the vocal and guitar tones and performances are so perfectly rehearsed that is sounds canned, a bit corny, and it feels like I'm listening to a song that wants to be the hit song on a musical's soundtrack but doesn't really do it. The lyrics fall flat and it's all kind of campy. I appreciate her striving for a big epic track but it just doesn't do it. I saw Janelle live at Governor's Ball in like 2015 or so and thought she was great. That was probably my first time hearing her too and it's always cool to see an act like and that be your first time hearing them. "Tightrope" is great. Maybe I'm failing to elaborate on why I like these songs without referencing other acts, but this is a really tight Bruno Mars & Beyonce-esque groove fest that is a delight to listen and bounce to. The one thing I'd like more on this album is more pauses, and more time to breath. The songs flow into eachother, which is great, but you don't really get any respite until track 5, which is around minute 14 or so into the experience.
who select these albums wtf
Good! "Mushrooms and Roses", "Say You'll Go", "BaBopByeYa", great songs.
I bet Beyonce is pissed she can't do this
really awesome record.
Top Voice, interesting beats and just a good listen.
I am- in awe. Of this album. It is so many things. So many things wonderful. I can’t BELIEVE I’ve never heard of Janelle Monae or any songs of hers or any songs from this album!! I feel cheated! This album was my favorite so far out of the 74 I’ve listened to on this list. It’s so unique and full of novelty. So diverse and experimental and rich. I love the blend of futuristic sci fi vibes and past classical feels. I love how personal and authentic and expressive the album is. Every song feels like a direct piece of Monae’s soul and spirit and I’m so grateful to come across it. My favorite tracks (even though I liked almost all of them) were Faster, Neon Valley Street, and BaBopByeYa. Such fresh songs, I can’t wait to listen to most of the songs from this album on repeat for weeks.
Janelle Monáe's debut album is one that, at first brush, defies description. I'll certainly give it a shot, though. it's a 70-minute sci-fi concept album forming the second and third suites of (what's expected to eventually be) a seven-suite body of work titled Metropolis, and it traverses way too many genres of music to name in an orderly fashion. somehow, all of this musical and conceptual underpinning kind of melts away when you actually sit and listen to The ArchAndroid from top to bottom; after that, you're just left with a batch of incredible songs. from R&B, soul, funk and hip hop to orchestral whimsy, neo-psychedelia (one of these songs is just an of Montreal track in disguise) and electronica, Monáe always feels at home. the first seven tracks of Suite II run into each other seamlessly, and could from a killer EP by themselves; the rapped features from Saul Williams and Big Boi are fantastic, and I particularly enjoy the "B.O.B."-esque breakbeat on "Cold War". Monáe and co. nearly match up to it on the more experimental Suite III, an equally impressive run through a much wider emotional gamut. there's easily enough compelling material for me to write several more paragraphs, but I'd have to sit with this album for way longer to do that. I just might! strong 8/10.
Ambitious sci-fi soul and orchestral pop built on funk grooves, symphonic arrangements, electronic textures, and dynamic, theatrical vocals unfolds in sweeping, genre-blurring movements. Listening feels like watching a futuristic opera where styles shift constantly but remain tied to a larger narrative arc. The result is inventive and engaging, though its scope feels overextended.
Didn't expect the production/mix to be so fun, detailed. Not familiar with her sound or adjacent artists/genres but I enjoyed the listen. Single standout for me was Cold War.
Absoluut gem of a record.
This was an eye-opener. I knew the song Tightrope, and thought it amazing, but never thought to listen to the album it's on. And here's suites II and II of an extended concept project - full of funk and sparkle and interesting bits, I like it quite a bit. It's genre-fluid - no unpleasant bits. I feel let down by the lyrics (very 'love' oriented, but without depth - gesturing at plot of a movie that doesn't exist - not unpleasant but not really engaging with actual people's lives), but the music is decent. The range of moods is a bit whiplash inducing, so I don't think the album as a whole is Wonderful, but I'll say it's Good, 7/10.
I can see the hype. Great voice and production, fresh, varied, and not stale like most albums on this list. 4*
Buen disco, variado y con una buena producción. Buena voz. Se merece estar en la lista.
It's good, but not my thing
So, it's a concept album from 2018 It's not bad, but I just didn't like it
Estuvo muy intesante
Refreshing to hear. And weird.
She is so good. 4
Bah ct top Janelle quiz sait aussi chanter en plus que de jouer en tant qu'actrice Un album formidable
C'est bien, très bien par moments même, mais c'est long et inégal aussi
I've been meaning to listen to a Janelle Monae album, so this was perfect. I've heard a couple of songs features she's done and I enjoy her voice. I loved this even more than I thought I would.
Pretty nice album. Lots of styles, lots of energy.
Not bad, kinda chill. Ok.
very lovely listen!
Can’t remember listening
really good! not my style though, but enjoyed some grooves. Fav: oh, maker & mushrooms
Buenas música, me gusto
There are things I like and don’t like about this album, the blending of genres was good and made this album very varied and cool that I didn’t know what was coming next. Their voice on the more tender songs and also their rapping ability was really good so that was an unexpected surprise and why I wanted to do this challenge because it got me out of my music bubble. I did think some of the songs weren’t needed and I needed the whole weekend to get through the album, some songs should’ve been cut in my opinion, there are some real good songs on here but I felt like I needed to get through filler to find them.
I'm a fan of Janelle Monae. When crazy classic life came out I listened to it a lot. This one doesn't land like that one did but it's well produced and interesting enough.
A lot of talent went in to this and produced a modern soul/funk musical that sounds incredible and is highly produced and polished. Honestly I was bored to death but she’s a great singer and I love the idea of this, just not my kind of music.
6,5. Una fusión muy divertida y movidita, me encanta también como algunas pistas se fusionan con la anterior, pero muchas canciones no siguen mi estilo y se hace repetitivo
I knew nothing of Janelle Monae or her music. The cover art was interesting and thought I noticed the Metropolis theme and was surprised I was correct. While the movie is a technical and stylistic wonder, the story is utter rubbish. Fritz Lang, the esteemed director, said it was rubbish and it was written by his wife (who became a Nazi while Fritz escaped to the West). That is all to say, low expectations if you are basing your music on the worst part of a landmark film yet I am happy to say I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the album. It was varied, moved with an almost urgency and quite different from most things I have heard (except Outkast because there was a lot of Outkast on this album)....Overall, a good experience.
Un licuado multifruta
Interesting and different - yes, but, sadly, I did not enjoy it at all. Probably just not my thing, but still it was interesting to get to hear it.
*Interesting soul/funk/R&B concept album
Cold War is one of the best pop songs of the past 20 years. Catchy, fun, meaningful, has a guitar solo. The rest of the album is also a joy of different styles. I apparently like it so much I accidentally bought it twice not realising I already owned it. But I don't find all of it so easy to listen to. Even so, this is the tightest 5 I've given.
between a 3 and 4 but siding with 3 because i’m not sure how likely i am to come back to it
I really want to like Janelle monae albums. I think she is brilliant, the way you make me feel is one of my favourite tracks, but whenever I listen to a bunch of her stuff it never seems to really connect. This is all over the place musically. Almost like she wanted a different style for every song. Some have the pop sensibilities she is really good at, but a lot of it just passed me by. I feel like her videos are often a nice visualisation of the tracks and maybe by putting some of them on i'd get it more. I haven't though. Maybe later Man, I really wanted to like this.
Not really my jam. Was okay though. A lot of different styles on here
Not my style
I need to re listen, its catchy and is way ahead of its time because the sounds and instrumentals are really rich and distinguished. I'm just getting my ears warmed up for this kind of upbeat and funky music or more particularly a soul r&b album. This album ain't at all bad, i dig this album heavy. Janelle sings like an angel and fits on the beats perfectly. Apart from that, the whole dystopian and sci-fi theme is pretty cool as well. Deserves more re-listens for sure!
Solo rescato Ba
Holy RANGE. only a few tracks really stuck out as something I'd come back to for casual listening, but it's all thoroughly entertaining nonetheless. So much creativity and whimsy. Highlights: 57821, Faster, Locked Inside, Neon Valley Street, Mushrooms & Roses
Très rafraîchissant! Belle découverte! Like it!
Majestic
Noen hits, men litt all over the place.
Surprisingly good! Very experimental. Just not really my style.
Bis auf 'make the bus' echt gutes Album. Am ende gehts ein bisschen zu lange aber ansonsten machts viel spaß 4/5
Enjoyed this one. Very cinematic at some parts and a nice blend of modern sounds with some classics. I will likely revisit this artist in the future
I've never heard the soundtrack for Wicked, but if you told me this was it I'd probably believe you. This album almost takes itself too seriously, but is still catchy and fun overall.
i have listened before, love this album to death. there's something very dorky and weird about it, while still having some absurd pop appeal, especially on the first half. it's entirely stimulating and interesting. very theater kid energy. Faster is my favorite track
Rating: 8/10 Janelle Monae's ArchAndroid is one of the most interesting and unique contemporary r&b albums with a cool futuristic sci-fi themes and a production style and sound to match. While it runs long and the first half of the track list is much stronger, the album as a whole is still both fun and ambitious and really pulls it off. And it's a debut.
It's fine. Unexciting for the most part but still had a few fun songs (Cold War and Tightrope are decent) 5.9/10
This was a varied and really enjoyable album. Some bangers, some beauty. All round I really enjoyed it.
4.5/5. Menevä. Pitää olla menevä olo ja menevää tekemistä. Lähellä ylivireytymistä. Ihana ja kaunis, taiteellinen.
Strong thematically, but the variety of musical genres could be jarring. It was an interesting listen.
A slightly unusual one in than I didn't love it, but did really appreciate the range of genres covered and how fun she makes the whole experience. 'Cold War' stood out
I can dig this in smaller doses maybe
Diferente
Loved this. Surprising hit. Will be listening again. Bit of pop/rap/r&b mixed with pink floyd
Honestly, it’s a really good album. Some tracks are better than others, but I was pleasantly surprised. I like how it blends different genres and styles
This is #day612 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I just don't get the hype around this, really. I sat through an almost 69-minute album, and I was like, what the hell was that? Sure, there's soul, R&B, and everything in between, but what does this record actually bring to the table? The idea that it's all meshed together, set to plastic beats and whatnot, and wrapped under the moniker of "progressive"? I mean... There's Prince. Go listen to Prince. Don't listen to this before you die. Enjoy the silence after all. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day613, which happens to be April 13, aka my 36th birthday.
Smorgasbord of sounds - delightful throughout. Energy, funk, jazz, lounge, rap, R&B.
How did I not know this artist? If this sprawling mix tape is her debut I can't wait to hear where she went from there.
The ArchAndroid destaca la excelente técnica vocal de Monáe, cuya precisión alcanza una cualidad sobrehumana. Es evidente su papel como precursora estilística para otras artistas afrodescendientes contemporáneas. Aunque la producción es predominantemente festiva, subyace en el álbum un trasfondo oscuro e inquietante que añade profundidad a la narrativa. Los pasajes románticos se alejan del sentimentalismo convencional para proyectar la noción de un amor futurista, sugiriendo una conexión más vinculada a la programación que a la espontaneidad humana. En conjunto, es un álbum de una sofisticación técnica y conceptual excepcional.
This album is really good. Very Very Good actually. I actually have a good feeling about this album. It seems so different from what I usually listen to. I should probably listen to more of Janelle's work. :) 'Come Alive' also was very good. I definetly want to come back to this album. 'Make the Buss'
I really appreciated the eclectic sound throughout this album - I think it was really well done, balanced, and executed. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't connect fully to me. I'd give this album a 4.5 if possible, but a 5 doesn't seem appropriate.
Pretty chill R&B album, nothing life changing to be honest but a very solid and good listen, some weirder more experimental bits which I liked and were interesting to hear in an R&B album
Me aburrió un poco
My ears are now blessed.
I enjoyed this a LOT. I fell behind for a few days because I thought I was going to hate this, but I’ve listened to it twice now. Will definitely be checking out her other albums.
Groovy
I've never heard her music, only seen her acting, and was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed this album.
I think Ill definitely like this more after a 2nd listen-through.
Favorite so far
Le iba a poner un 3 hasta que he leido que lo comparaban a michael jackson y que salió en 2010. This shit mid as hell
She’s a big Prince fan and you can hear it in the music, for better and for worse. Pretty talented and I like that she went for something different but it just hopped around so much tonally it kind of lost me. I liked the song with Big Boi.2.4
4.2 I only really know of Janelle from her gettin her tits out a couple years back whenever she got the chance, for whatever reason (promoting an album I guess?) Well, she doesnt need to pull those stunts (although it is appreciated, she's a bad one). Thought the album was pretty great front to back and side to side. There are some common bells and whistles throughout the production parts ; I guess that would be my only knock. (but song to song, everything was quite varied and interesting) R&B Bowie.
So glad this site put me on Janelle!!!
Su
Janelle Monáe explored a lot of new ground with this album.
Not really my style.
Really interesting album, huge mix of genres and styles, will give this another listen
It's ok. The mix of genres is interesting, but it also sounds bloated and pretentious. It's sung well, played well, but it was too long and the songs didn't really capture me. 3/5
quite the maximalist album. i’ve enjoyed other stuff from janelle but this project feels a bit unfocused. some killer vocals tho.
Not bad but pretty long without any particularly memorable songs
3.5
2.5
I really enjoyed this album actually quite a bit. Especially *Suite II* which I think was a nice feel of '70s and '80s funk I can hear a little bit of both Epic period Jacksons and Prince in the mix of some funk and a little bit of hip Hop. It was a great eclectic mix of R&B all over the place. *Suite 3* however stayed pretty much more modern. There are some neo Soul tracks on this part that I really like, especially "Say You'll Go". And then there's tracks like "Make the Bus" (f/Of Montreal) that quite frankly really just didn't do anything for me. I'd say the first two thirds of the album, basically *Suite I*, I was wanting to give it a light to moderate 4½ stars, but that last third really didn't rise up more than a really light 4. I do respect and enjoy the cinematic aspect of the album especially the score sounding overtures and how they bookend both Suites. It kind of makes me want to check out the other three parts of this Saga (her debut EP and sophomore album). I think as for this album as one unit, I'm just going to have to go with a mid 4 (8.5) ★★★★
Nice modern soul. 4 stars
I don't know about this. On one hand, it seems ambitious, but also too all over the place. I also thought Suite II was more enjoyable than Suite III. Favorite tracks were "Dance or Die", "Tightrope", and "Come Alive (The War of the Roses)". 3.5 stars.
Very fresh when this came out. Great synthesis of pop, hip hop, future funk and RnB along with ambitious orchestral movements. Locked Inside and Cold War are two very tasty poppy anthemic heavy hitters and there is a nice snatch of Debussy chucked near the end. It’s an album that could have done with being 38 minutes as opposed to 68 though. In terms of quality tunage it ended up being a ‘parched’ android for most of the runtime during the second half.
Wow. Wasn’t sure what to expect with this album. Janelle Monae has a beautiful voice. This kind of reminds me of Yes when they were in concert. I’m writing this before I check on who Janelle is and what this album is all about. Kind of a cool sound to keep in the background when you are working or playing a game.
This album is all over the place but somehow it still feels cohesive? Magic. It has so many good parts.