Janelle Monae – Age of Pleasure
In the first track, ‘Float’, of Janelle Monae’s new album Age of Pleasure they say, ‘It's hard to look at my resume, and not find a reason to toast.’ You can’t argue with that sentiment, in fact, the short runtime of this album seems to be dedicated almost entirely to that. Living up to its title, the Age of Pleasure is less of a meditation on success and more of a hedonistic pool party where endless popped Champaign corks float, discarded with whichever article of clothing was holding you back the most.
‘Float’ starts off the album as a kind of mission statement, with victorious horns and braggadocios rhymes by Janelle. While I love Janelle’s voice like no other, the energy sags a little during the moments when she trades melody for bars and the overall production on this track comes off a little stiff. The energy instantly lifts off, however, with the second track ‘Champaign Shit’* with the most infectious organ hook I’ve ever heard and some clever songwriting that all comes together to make the best party song of the year.
I like all my kisses French
When I'm on my champagne shit
Everybody turnin' 'round takin' them pics
'Cause I'm on my champagne shit
And I'm throwin' them tips (tips, tips)
On my champagne shit
And she throwin' them hips (hips, hips)
'Cause I'm on my champagne shit
Janelle doesn’t know how to make a bad song and there’s plenty of career highlights in here, such as ‘Water Slide’ with some the most gorgeous harmonies on the album, the imminently playful ‘Haute’* with its infectious flute loop and affirmation filled lyrics, and of course the sensual chemistry of the first single, ‘Lipstick Lover.’ While every song on this album is good, there are a few things holding this album back from greatness.
I'm raising the bar
They giving me stars
They think I'm supreme
They say I look better than David Bowie
In a MoonAge Dream
They keep on me gassin' me up
I'm smoking a pack of that Lowells
Ain't seen me like this in a while
I'm young and I'm black and I'm wild
For as short as the runtime is on this album, I was surprised to find a handful of interlude tracks that carry on the hook from the previous song, such as ‘Black Sugar Beach,’ host some home recorded dialogue like in ‘The French 75’(my least favorite point in the album), and ‘Oooh La La’ which teases with a Grace Jones feature that doesn’t end up leaving much of an impression. While tracks like ‘Know Better’ and ‘Paid in Pleasure’* have catchy instrumental hooks I feel like a larger and expanded release would have given them room to stand on their own a little better instead of drowning them in the flood of party bangers that surround.
Spend it all on me
All on me, all on me, all on me, all on me
Spend it all on me
All on me, all on me, all on me
Baby, if you pay me in pleasure
I'ma keep it coming forever
Baby, if you pay me in pleasure
I'ma keep it coming, coming
Come, come, coming
The album closes with tracks like ‘Only Have Eyes 42,’ which slows down the reggae infusion of the rest of the record for a ‘tender’ dedication to polyamory, and ‘A Dry Red’ which injects the tiniest dash of yearning and melancholia at the tail end of this otherwise speaker busting party. It’s a sweet and introspective moment that comes in at the last minute to lend a little of that old Janelle magic.
While I do enjoy every song (interludes excluded) on the album as they stand alone, I think Janelle has spoiled us with so many epic moments from their previous releases that I couldn’t help but be a little let down by the brief and myopic focus of Age of Pleasure. It strives and mostly succeeds in making the party album of the year but less so in making a party album for the ages.
Christine and the Queens – Paranoia, Angels, True Love
I was just recently made aware of French artist Christine and the Queens when some of the typical Spotify ‘suggested playlist’ magic landed ‘People, I’ve Been Sad’ before me. The shocking beauty of that track took me down the usual rabbit hole to make sure it wasn’t just a flash in the pan moment and while no other tracks hit me the same way, I knew that Chris was cooking up special things in that musical kitchen of his. Having Paranoia, Angels, True Love drop so soon after my discovery of Chris is the type of musical kismet that seems sewn in the cosmic fabric to only happen every so often, and that shocking beauty that ‘People, I’ve Been Sad’ hinted at blasts at newer and sharper levels over the course of its extraordinary length.
I made mention of the album's length as it does seem daunting to see and hour and thirty minutes listed as the run-time but, what we have with Paranoia, Angels, True Love is, in essence, three smaller albums all floating around the same themes of love, lust, and a tremendous sense of grief that subsumes everything else. The first disc, Paranoia contains the most outwardly dark tracks on this project, starting with the momentous opener, ‘Overture,’ which introduces some of the albums recurring motifs along fuzzy guitar stings and spaced-out synths before drifting into the first of several haunting spoken word moments.
Through the light
Remember, you're my baby
Welcome to the tell of tales
Welcome to the tale of your own light, my child
Welcome to the light
From where I stand
Everything is glorious
We get the most plainly grief-stricken track with ‘Tears Can Be Soft’ which slides in with a smooth trip-hop beat and a sensual vocal performance that mixes the sad with the sensual in a way that recalls early Portishead. In ‘Day in the Water’ there’s a quiet hum of synths over a beat that ticks along mournfully while Chris dreams of a day spent with the sun glinting upon them from deeper and deeper depths of the water. The highlight track of the album also comes in the first disc with the starkly gorgeous ‘Full of Life’ which builds in regret, anger, desire over the building strings of Pachebel’s ‘Canon.’ It's the best use of classical music in a modern track that I’ve heard since Lingua Ignota took Henry Purcell’s ‘Funeral Music for Queen Mary’ to terrifying depths in ‘Butcher of the World.’
Seize my head in regret
There might not be another vision
One that makes me forget I wish I was another person
And we still
Try every night to go make sense of it
(Fighting)
Over lust
Still try every night to bound over something
(Fighting)
Over love
In the second disc (Angels) we get another gorgeous track with the piano laden and funereal love song ‘Flowery Days’* and what is probably the most jarring and aggressive song on the album, ‘Let Me Touch You Once’ featuring 070 Shake. It staggers in with a breathless vocal over slamming percussion, crunchy guitars and wobbly alien electronics like a man drunk and looking for any type of distraction from his crumbling life. There are moments of softness, to be sure, but an underlying unease still flows through these tracks.
When I die of love
All seeds will scatter 'round
In yellow dusty sounds into the flowery days
Nothing eternal
All is well and done the trees are golden warm
Into the flowery days
One of the more startling recurring moments on the album comes with the Madonna feature on the tracks, ‘Angels Crying in My Bed,’ ‘I Met an Angel’ and ‘Lick the Light Out.’* Her monotone, threatening yet comforting delivery breaking in once per disc anchors us back when this record flies little too high and gets obscured in the clouds when tracks like (the inaccurately titled) ‘Track 10’ and the Disc 3 (True Love) opener cruise past what could have been a more abbreviated run-time. All the pain, terror and confusion seem a little less frightening by the time we get to the final tracks like the hopeful ‘To Be Honest’ and the all-encompassing harmonies (dissonance?) of the closer ‘Big Eye’. It’s hard not to be overwhelmed by all that has come before, but it feels like something close to an act of ‘healing.’
Where do you think I stand?
I stand in your heart, just next to your lungs
You smoke too much, do you want to chase me away?
I am dwelling in your sorry, broken, crazy, raging heart
Don't deny, it's useless, I'm here
Breathing through your mouth
Seeing with your heart
Loving through your flesh
There are so many moments of absolute wonder and transcendence throughout this album, and I have no question this will go down as one of the most potent examples of exploration of the many complicated emotions and experiences one goes through over the many stages of grief, including occasionally getting lost in the sheer noise of it all. While it may at times carry more ambition than it can handle, by the time you’ve crossed the other side, it feels more like a complete journey rather than just another album.
JP&SI Summer 2023 – A Playlist
At the start of this month, my spouse, Sierra, and I celebrated our 1st year of marriage by taking a road trip to a place to celebrate. While it wasn’t the longest drive, there was still plenty of time and noise to fill, so we put together a playlist with the intention of trapping the vibes, hopes and dreams we had for this Summer Season. We tried to keep most of the tracks secret from each other though I did peak a little bit to avoid any overlap. What we created lasted the entire drive down (save one lonely song) and was surprisingly cohesive for how varied it is. This playlist should be put on shuffle to fully appreciate, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.