Take Me Apart
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LP / Format
Warp / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Whether it's the kiss-off on "Frontline," or the unabashed come-ons on "Truth or Dare," Take Me Apart is a subtle, sexy LP from a woman who knows what she wants, and clearly aims to write anthems for fans feeling the same way.
90
Greatness hasn't sounded this natural in this arena for some time.
90
Nothing is as volcanic as "Bank Head" or as rush-inducing as "Rewind" -- two past gems -- but these hyperballads and zero-gravity jams always stimulate, covering a broader spectrum of emotional states with deeper resonance.
88
Take Me Apart is well worth the wait. Working with a dream team of modern music makers—Arca, The xx's Romy Madley Croft, Kingdom and Ariel Rechtshaid—Kelela navigates from the abstract fringes of club music towards the pop center on her own terms.
86
On Take Me Apart, her first studio album, she takes the cerebral, corporeal world she’s built into the domain where it can historically live best: a new, outré, rhythmic pop galaxy that honors but outpaces its peers.
85
Though technically Kelela’s full-length debut, the album feels like a next step, proof that her striking sound was no mere gimmick but instead the foundation for one of the most advanced, daring artists in contemporary pop.
9mo
83
Take Me Apart is a multi-faceted sidewinder of a release that refines the aesthetics of Kelela’s previous projects and painstakingly marries them to exemplary result.
80
This is an album that plays with pop music in the way the greats do.
80
Take Me Apart may not appear as immediately interesting and unique as Kelela's previous work but there are layers upon layers of elements to be explored.
80
Sticking the landing, the album is a sweeping mix of pop, R&B and a lot of wonderful experimental writing and sound-crafting.
80
Kelela’s vocal stops Take Me Apart ending up as a fragmented series of sounds: consistently exquisite as it dances between lovesick confusion and shrewd sensuality.
80
‘Take Me Apart’ fully explains what the fuss is about. Aided by co-writers and producers including Björk/Kanye cohort Arca and Zayn collaborator Sam Dew, Kelela has crafted a cool and sensual album which feels cohesive without slipping into saminess.
80
Kelela has produced a debut that somehow manages to evoke megastar crooners from decades past, cyborgs from the future, and, unmistakably, the defining sounds of pop music’s present.
80
Much of ‘Take Me Apart’ takes the listener through familiar tropes - female autonomy, sexual awakening and despondent love - yet it strikes a different chord, the LP whizzing by with a breathless urgency mapped out by the stellar production of premier collaborators Arca and Jam City, who understand the delicate contours of Kelela’s voice.
80
Kelela's debut album is a great representation of how cutting edge the alternative R&B genre can be.
80
It’s this invitation into her most confidential thoughts that makes the album equal parts sensual as it is unflinchingly confident, and it’s the ability to inhabit so many subtleties of the emotional turmoil of relationships that makes Take Me Apart such a memorable album.
80
Take Me Apart is a very spacious operation in which the 34-year-old ponders love, lust and hurt as soundbeds break down around her.
75
There’s another EP in here that’s every bit as good as Hallucinogen, but as an album, Take Me Apart remains more proof of Kelela’s talent and still-unrealized potential.
70
Her debut full-length fuses together jagged textures, vaporous synths and her versatile voice into forward-thinking R&B animated by its restless innovation.
70
Take Me Apart isn’t always immediately gratifying, but in being loud in its vulnerability (and quietly radical for it), Kelela’s first album is a powerful addition to the feminist, futurist RnB canon.
60
As such, ‘Take Me Apart’ is awash with glacial synths, trap beats and bass-laden electronica that’s brought together under an R&B sheen. It’s also a record characterised by juxtapositions, mirroring the breakdown of relationships and hope for new ties that Kelela explores.
60
For the most part, Take Me Apart is sonically more akin to a soundtrack, one for neon-tinged late-night driving. Or for bedrooms with ceiling mirrors — those slippery reflections…
why did two equally similar accounts give two zero scores? wtf
There's not any bad music in that album. Love all of it.
Favs: Frontline, Waitin, Enough, Jupiter, Better, LMK, Blue Light and Onanon.
There's not any bad music in that album. Love all of it.
Favs: Frontline, Waitin, Enough, Jupiter, Better, LMK, Blue Light and Onanon.
i really want to love this new Kelela record, but i cant help to notice that some of the tracks feel more of the same to me. There is of course stellar tracks of this record such as Take me apart, Waitin, Truth or dare but i can't manage to finish the record from start to finish without feeling a little un-engaged. I can acknowledge how intrinsic and unique record can be at times but in the end of the day, Kelela herself doesn't explore more enough. I feel the similar vein in her music as FKA ... read more
This album sounds incredible. The production is immaculate. The touch of reverb on every track actually adds a whole lot to the experience. Kelela is captivating performer. Her voice may not be the greatest, but she has some serious charisma. Fantastic debut album.
Best Tracks: Frontline, Waitin, Better, LMK, Blue Light, Onanon, Altadena
Worst Tracks: Jupiter
Best Tracks: Frontline, Waitin, Better, LMK, Blue Light, Onanon, Altadena
Worst Tracks: Jupiter
This is one of the most intricately produced R&B albums of the year. Kelela has a very distinct persona and a fantastic voice. Overall a pretty inventive and well put together project.
Lyrics & Themes: 7/10
Performance: 8/10
Arrangement: 8/10
Sonic Palette: 8/10
Lyrics & Themes: 7/10
Performance: 8/10
Arrangement: 8/10
Sonic Palette: 8/10
A lot of filler but the good tracks here are fucking siiiick
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #2 | / | Dummy |
| #3 | / | Mixmag |
| #4 | / | Cosmopolitan |
| #4 | / | NOW Magazine |
| #4 | / | Pitchfork |
| #5 | / | Junkee |
| #6 | / | Complex UK |
| #6 | / | Dazed |
| #6 | / | Highsnobiety |
| #6 | / | Mashable |
| #6 | / | The Quietus |
| #7 | / | Bleep |
| #7 | / | Interview Magazine |
| #7 | / | Vulture |
| #8 | / | ABC News |
More Lists
MISC LISTS
| #3 | / | Pitchfork (Pop and R&B) |
| #4 | / | Exclaim! (Soul / R&B) |
| #5 | / | Rolling Stone (R&B) |
| #10 | / | The Genius Community |
| #16 | / | DJBooth (Hip Hop / R&B) |
| #62 | / | Drift Records |
| / | AllMusic (R&B) | |
| / | HipHopDX (R&B) | |
| / | VIBE |
Track List
- Frontline
- Waitin
- Take Me Apart
- Enough
- Jupiter
- Better
- LMK
- Truth Or Dare
- S.O.S.
- Blue Light
- Onanon
- Turn To Dust
- Bluff
- Altadena
pitchfork.com
Kelela announces debut album, shares new song “LMK” 
thisisfakediy.co.uk
Listen: Kelela Unveils New Single ‘The High’ 
Added on: August 1, 2017
