Miguel - Wildheart
Critic Score
Based on 33 reviews
2015 Ratings: #96 / 1021
Year End Rank: #20
User Score
Based on 533 ratings
2015 Rank: #200
Liked by 21 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
Entertainment Weekly

Miguel recognizes both the romance and the risk embedded in the City of Angels, a clear-eyed balance that makes Wildheart as bracing as a plunge into the Pacific.

90
Slant Magazine

As with Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, another work whose laser-focused assuredness counterpoises the ambivalence on display here, Wildheart stands out as a collection of songs about the significance of roots, using an assortment of West Coast imagery to communicate the splintered state of the artistic psyche Miguel presents.

90
Exclaim!
It's an intrepid effort that gives a middle finger to today's "urban" R&B and rides a lane that mines elements of Prince rock, George Clinton/Parliament funk and Frank Ocean baroque pop to stand on its own, commercial considerations to the wind.
90
HipHopDX

On Wildheart, Miguel excels in embodying the name of the album by being an artist both making a progressive album, but also uncovering more knowledge of self in the process, too.

89
Pitchfork

On Wildheart, Miguel makes good on all of his cross-genre dabbling of the past five years, but unlike the track-based experiments that dotted his two prior LPs and five mixtapes, he extrapolates the heavy funk across an entire album. 

85
The Line of Best Fit

Miguel writes nothing but memorable melodies and his songwriting is the engine that makes Wildheart all work, that takes his affinity for funk, psychedelia and Prince, and turns them an album that feels totally of the moment.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

Wildheart is his finest and most stubborn statement yet — a provocative, swooning mess, the 45-minute manifestation of that alternately deranged and inspired five-minute SNL performance. It also just might be one of the best rock albums of 2015.

81
Paste
The third LP from the 29-year-old neo-R&B artist is easily his most ambitious effort to date—a deeply visceral production that’s infused with rap-rock vibes and nuanced electronic twists, from a singular figure who lays it all out on the table.
80
Clash

You can hear the work Miguel put into making 'Wildheart' a true assertion of his growth as an artist. The production is expansive and layered, never resting on its laurels.

80
The Guardian

His previous albums were sonically scattered and eclectic, but Wildheart mints a signature musical style; moreover, it’s a signature musical style that doesn’t sound much like anyone else.

80
NOW Magazine

His third - and best - album moves farther away from beat-oriented R&B toward music that's heavy guitars, sex and hazy Cali vibes.

80
Rolling Stone
It's a necessary record that should generate plenty of thought, and more than a few babies, too.
80
SPIN

It’s not quite as satisfying as Kaleidoscope Dream, but it expands that album’s palette, pushing Miguel into further depths without submerging him in the squalor.

80
NME

There’s an occasional tendency for the guitars to spill into the clunky arena rock territory preferred by Lenny Kravitz – who shreds on ‘Face The Sun’ – but ‘Wildheart’ impresses nonetheless. 

80
AllMusic
While the reduction in lucid hooks and the uptick in wince-inducing lyrics diminish the album's appeal, the charms are hard to repel.
80
musicOMH

Wildheart is a beautiful album from one of the most exciting and talented artists in music right now.

75
The 405

Wildheart is a leap in the right direction but Miguel hasn't shed off all of pop's restrictive trappings just yet.

75
Consequence of Sound

Even with his sexy talk sometimes failing as foreplay, Wildheart is a magnificent, swirling epic of longing, love, and lust.

75
A.V. Club

Wildheart sees Miguel expanding and refining his sound, and while not every experiment hits its mark, the result is an ambitious and moving album.

70
Billboard

There's nothing on Wildheart to make one lose faith in Miguel's promise as a major creative and popular force of the decade, but neither is there enough to feel like he has satisfied his warring sides.

60
PopMatters

Wildheart is the sound of Miguel fully coming into his own identity. Now, we just have to wait for him to do something with it.

50
No Ripcord

In attempting to avoid being part of a scene, the paucity of ideas becomes stark. Wildheart impresses in parts, and Miguel’s vocals are a thing to behold. For the most part, however, it’s a record that struggles to fully hold your attention.

Space Vacation
86

Thanks so much @goncalocouto for the recommendation!

Extremely catchy! I really love this!
From the first track Wildheart sunk it's hooks into me, I had a lot of fun listening to this :)

zachthesnack
76

From the very beginning of the album, Miguel took a tight grip of my attention with the groovy guitar riffs on “a beautiful exit”. Right off the bat, I was taken aback by sounds and instrumentation that I was not expecting from an rnb record and Miguel just kept the surprises coming through all 16 songs. This is an incredibly unique and exciting musical ride through the world of passion, sex and self doubt and it is one that I will soon find myself enjoying again.

Without a ... read more

KXLL3R
85

What can I say?

konorsgroves
90

in the middle of a relisten and just wanted to make it known this is one of my favourite r&b albums and it is unbelievably underappreciated

caddicarusfan15
100

Hey bitches Guess what? I think i found my favourite R&B album now! And that's not a shitty-ass tiktok album!
"Wildheart" Is where Miguel (5 Years After he dropped the most corny debut album in his career) Is showing to everyone his psychedelic but very wild side.
Unlike his debut (*All i want Is you*... what a ass title name lol) & kaleidoscope Dreams, this album Is a fusion of Andrea Triana's Lost where i belong vibes with thee oh sees/temples's neo-psychedelic vibes, with ... read more

Felix_96
70

7/10

good

Fav tracks: a beautiful exit, the valley, coffee, waves, leaves, face the sun

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Added on: May 19, 2015