CD review: Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid **** Atlantic, £10.99
HERE'S a rarity: a brand-new artist on a major label, permitted the indulgence of creating a concept album with an alien robot protagonist, which is equally influenced by James Brown and Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Janelle Monae is worth that gamble.
More than a formidable natural-born soul star, she exhibits visionary ambition in realising such an audacious, layered piece of work.
The ArchAndroid encompasses old-school jumping R&B, bubblegum soul pop, swampy rockabilly freakouts, dreamy acid funk and classy torch balladry, all bound together by orchestral connective tissue and Monae's dazzling creative energy.
Keep an eye and ear on this woman - she's a natural successor to her fellow forward-thinking Atlantans Outkast.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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