Recommended by
The Age of Pleasure
The fourth album from Janelle Moane is an impressive set of epic soul, R’n’B and hip hop which also effortlessly includes sultry future-lovers rock, brassy, breezy Afro-soul, and stripped-back acoustic ballads too. Fela Kuti’s son Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 provide percolating Afro beat backing for “Know Better and Float,” Jamaican DJ (’toaster’ or MC to non-Jamaicans) Sister Nancy guests on “The French 75,” and the reggae theme continues with the Grace Jones featuring interlude “Ooooh La La,” sample-chopped lovers rock “Only Have Eyes 42,” and her sultry reggae-flavoured “Lipstick Lover” and “Waterslide.” Its 14 tracks are sumptuous, bold and expansive but only one of them is over three minutes and plenty of them are under two and they segue into each other, sounds redolent of different musical locales coming and going in a fast-paced day-glo kaleidoscopic sonic collage. Another exciting Janelle Monáe album.