The Electric Lady features so many different styles yet each one is done near perfectly. Moving between genres is seamless and each track is so full of character as a result of this diversity, the exemplary arrangements and, of course, Monáe herself leading the way.
The Electric Lady is also a dazzling artistic statement, a fiendlishly clever album that oozes enough feminine charm, wit and charisma to endow dozens of regular pop starlets with.
What could be unwieldy becomes a vast patchwork of influences buoying empowerment.
This is smart, intelligent, thought-provoking music. And it will make you want to dance.
Janelle Monáe has not simply lived up to our expectations here; she has shattered them, delivering a confident, creative, and enormously entertaining record that marginally betters her sublime debut.
All in all, it is one of the most exceptionally realised albums to enter the world since her last release, and confirms that both as an artist and a role-model Monáe really ought to be celebrated as Electric Lady number one.
Taken as a whole, The Electric Lady is a convincing argument for the virtues of micromanagement, but some of the most powerful, tender moments come from acknowledging limits.
The songs themselves are undeniably empowering without being especially overt or sloganeering about it; where Beyoncé claims that girls run the world, Monáe has gone ahead and created her own world, one with her own rules.
Janelle Monáe thankfully narrows her sonic scope on The Electric Lady, her equally epic and frequently wonderful second album.
The album is admirably steeped in pop music history without seeming derivative and where The Electric Lady triumphs is in its ability to connect with the listener.
It’s a very large world, but one stocked with charming character, tasty pop, and enlightening lyricism that shines like an electric heart through the android framework.
Each homage is perfectly realised, and for an artist whose conceptualism has been decried as having a distancing effect, Monáe has visceral passion and crackling emotional immediacy to burn.
Monae transcends what we’ve come to see and hear from current Pop stars.
It’s a rare treat to feel so included by an album, and even more so for an artist to work so hard on achieving that inclusion. This isn’t her masterpiece (that’s to come in the sixth and seventh suites), but it’s only a sliver away.
It is possible to love The Electric Lady, even if deep listening may be required to seal the deal. She certainly works hard for our devotion.
#2 | / | No Ripcord |
#3 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
#4 | / | Paste |
#8 | / | TIME |
#9 | / | The 405 |
#9 | / | The Guardian |
#11 | / | PopMatters |
#11 | / | Slant |
#12 | / | Sputnikmusic |
#13 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |