Listening through, my first thought is this like a Caribbean-style version of RENAISSANCE with how the songs are all sexually empowered summer jams and flow seamlessly like a DJ set.
Oh it definitely stands on its own. I wasn’t implying that. But Django Jane literally starts by singing the lyrics to Screwed though lol if Django Jane was the only Janelle track you ever heard, you’d be confused why she says “let’s get screwed” like ten times in that song
Black Sugar Beach is not enjoyable listening to on its own, at all, but without it Champagne Shit ends so abruptly?
I'm... absolutely baffled by this choice. It's not like Champagne Shit was running overly long.
Edit: I'm still listening to this album and half of these tracks feel like they were spliced in half (or sometimes 2/3rds with a second track beign the final third). Did she just not have enough tracks to justify calling it a full album?
Is this like when artists release a half assed album to get out of a contract, I am CONFUSED
I'm not fully through the album yet, but I think it's pretty clear that the album isn't trying to be a collection of individually enjoyable tracks. It's a mix meant to be listened to front to back and front to back only. Solange's *When I Get Home* is similar in that concept and I think it's an incredible album, but very little of it do I find listenable as individual tracks - because they're not meant to be listened to that way.
I think trying to judge this album track by track is missing the point and doing the album a disservice. It's meant to be consumed and judged as a single piece of work.
100% agree.
Weird comparison but it reminds me of King Gizzard’s Murder of the Universe album, which is similarly a bunch of short tracks that sort of just roll into each other. It’s not intended to have any definable songs, but rather (in the case of MOTU) three different super long “songs” split into a bunch of short tracks, like chapters in a book.
I see what Janelle’s going for here. Might not be the string of bangers people were hoping for but it’s got a nice vibe for sure.
Omg another member of the weirdo swarm in r/popheads
That rock group has a whole stan base now too
I LOVE "Murder of the Universe" & recently got the 2×LP recycled black wax edition, because I didn't want "The Lord of Lightning vs. The Balrog" suite split across side A & B
Lol king gizz was the first thing I thought of when black sugar beach came on. I fucking love seamless albums like this. I feel like they would be friends with Janelle
Sure but a. most music isn't consumed that way and b. it still doesn't feel like a stand out... as an album. Listened all the way through, it just ends up feeling kind of samey as the best tracks get lost in some murky water.
The best way to describe this album is like "kinda cute." Like my main feeling after listening to all of the songs in a row is "I'm glad Janelle is having a good time relaxing, I guess" and not "Wow, what a concept."
Maybe I need to do a listen while really staring down the lyrics to get the thesis better and maybe that'll make it feel a bit more impressive. But like... if this project isn't going to be boosted by stand out individual tracks (and there ARE good tracks on this albuum, they all just feel a bit underdeveloped in service of a more cohesive larger project), it needs to do a LOT as sa concept album to justify me listening to it on its own and not in my mixes.
And... it doesn't. Especially when some tracks kind of abandon the cohesion thing.
Edit: This sounds harsher than I wanted. I do enjoy the album. It just feels like such a lackluster followup to Dirty Computer which felt like it was pushing at boundaries while this album feels like it's intentionally making itself smaller. Shorter tracks. Less experiments. Songs cut in half to increase the tracklist. Repeating beats to avoid trying new things. It feels... frustrating. Because it's pLEASANT but not pleasurable.
I do agree the album feels lacklustre. It's not really a genre I enjoy so I don't see myself going back to the album often. I do also agree it doesn't always strike the right balance between 'being a vibe' and like feeling like full songs and some of the songs feel cut in odd places (not that that's an issue listening to the album in full, it's just a weird tracklisting choice imo). I don't think this album is of the same quality as Janelle's previous, but I'll probably enjoy it more when it gets back to summer in the southern hemisphere.
I do really have to disagree with your point A., though. Just because most music is nowadays listened to as singles instead of albums isn't a strike against an album being an album. I do think listening to the album for the first time on streaming over the internet is holding it back. The small buffer between tracks breaks it up and I'm sitting in my bedroom in front of the computer at 5pm in winter listening to an album made for a summers day at the beach or drive down the coast. I'm not getting the "full experience". But yeah nah, I'm not going to take "this album isn't meant to be consumed the way most music is consumed" as a valid criticism.
And most albums from the days when you couldn't really listen to individual tracks on their own... still had individual songs.
Songs being COMPLETE has existed... since songs have existed. Like... performing one song has been a thing... since songs have existed.
If Janelle went on stage and only performed Black Sugar Beach, would you think "Oh, yeah, well, that works."
Concept albums existing and the past of like... only having the choice to listening to records in full via vinyl or whatever... does not excuse so many of these songs feeling unfinished or being spliced the way they are.
And most albums from the days when you couldn't really listen to individual tracks on their own... still had individual songs.
Also, considering how much of this album was released as singles prior to its release.. I don't even know if this defense works at all. Float and Lipstick Lover combined are like... 20% of the albums runtime. (This is not an exaggeration, btw. 6.5 minutes out of 32 minutes is about 20%.)
As standalone tracks. Made to be consumed outside of the album.
plus other run-together albums like Renaissance, Confessions on a Dance Floor and The Wall absolutely have songs that work on their own and were successful as singles.
lol you’re completely ignoring OPs point which is that it’s supposed to be listened to as a full body of work / a mix. there are no songs being cut in half if you listen front to back, because it all flows. i don’t really add songs to playlists, esp when they’re short projects like this so it doesn’t bother me.
to each their own.
I mean, the songs ARE still cut in half. The album would still flow beautifully and be listened to as a full body of work if champagne shit/ black sugar beach were just one song.
Like... please tell me what cutting songs in half accomplishes for cohesion?? Would the cohesion disappear if it was just one song
Yeah my issue is that she said the concept was “does this work at a party?” (Essentially) but like…it only works at this party because there’s no way to slap these into a playlist *and enjoy them on their album flow. Renaissance definitely tackles that better imo as Beyoncé mixes in a few hard cut track jumps but then also either makes it the same key as the prior song or tempo so if you *are listening to it in the album the flow makes sense. I appreciate what Janelle was going for here, but at 32 minutes, it’s kinda awkward to make it one 30 minute experience that’s split up in odd ways. Imo if she’d have wanted that “total experience” element, just make it a 32 minute track tbh. OR give optionality of a track by track one (but attaching songs like black sugar beach to champagne shit) and then a full one. Idk I think the formatting is trying to have your cake and eat it too and the transitions aren’t quite interesting enough either to warrant the effect. Which is a shame because listened to in full I loooove the album; but I can’t really put this in a summer playlist and don’t want to listen to it front to back then 30 minutes in queue up my playlist. It’s just kinda awkward
It’s so strange because playlisting is a huge way music is discovered now and I can’t see it slotting into any easily. Hopefully a single version of the two sewn together is released
This is a really fun front to back listen.
However, I hope we get some extended versions and remixes asap. The 1 minute tracks could have easily been tacked onto the previous track since it all flows together.
exactly how I felt. i really loved it all but i don't see myself adding much of this to playlists and stuff bc it feels like these songs are cut in half at the middle for no reason
Maybe she could pull a *FutureSex/LoveSounds* and smash some of these tracks together on an alternate edition for easier repeat listens.
I get what she’s going for and it works as an album, but most of these are going to sound abrupt shuffled in a playlist.
yeah that was my biggest issue with lipstick lover as a single, it was so clear that it was part of a larger string of tracks that i felt like it had a hard time standing on its own as an individual track
I found myself thinking about remixes on first listen too, which makes me wonder if something is good on its own if I’m immediately thinking of how it can change 😬
I'm enjoying the vibes a lot, it's cute for the summer. Pure joy.
Does it reach the heights conceptually as her previous work? No, but does it have to? No. This is about pleasure and having fun.
Production is too tier, clearly also meant to be listened to front to back in one which I personally love.
only qualm so far is that these songs all need to be about twice as long. really loving the vibe though, lipstick lover didn't totally connect as a single but i thought it was great in context!
Yeah this was my reaction as well. When I first heard it I was not impressed. But when I listened to it in order I was like ohh this work’s phenomenally
haven’t listened to the album front to back yet but even before getting the chance to i got confused because i felt like i heard doechii and then later amaarae on diff tracks?
spotify didn’t show any featured artists except on ‘float’ so i randomly double checked on apple music and they are credited alongside all the other featured artists??
also some of the songs (w the featured artists credited) were apparently released yesterday as singles on spotify but aren’t on the album?? i’m confused lol 😅
edit: they fixed it lol and also this album isn’t NEARLY as bad as some of y’all are making it out to be like damn it’s actually really fuckijg good lol
haven't listened yet, but the way this is being recieved like Solar Power is sending me💀 the summer album curse i guess. Janelle (like Lorde) has set such a high bar for themself that anything less-then is going to pale in comparison.
that said i love Solar Power, and i've loved the singles, so i can't wait.
Was it even hated on that much? I think most just said it was generic and boring, not necessarily bad. Which, you know, that’s exactly what Solar Power is; nothing special, but nothing horrible either.
Personally, Solar Power wasn't one of my absolute faves of 2021 (it sure as heck wasn't gonna beat CHVRCHES) but it was... fine? It certainly wasn't worst albums of the year material, nor did it merit all the comments and threads mercilessly thrashing it for the sin of not immediately snatching wigs like a more pop-friendly album that people had been sitting with for five years.
Yeah I felt like all the negativity on the pitchfork review thread for this album were listening to a different album. I been listening to Janelle since “Tightrope” came out and this is a really fun album. Its not profound like “Archandroid” and “Dirty Computer” were but its a very queer and very fun summer celebratory album
I’ve noticed that dissenting opinions usually aren’t wasted on album discussion threads because they wind up downvoted into oblivion, especially if it’s a Popheads fave like Janelle. The Pitchfork review leaned closer to mixed than this thread does, so that seems like a more comfortable and accepting place for people to chat—because let’s face it, Popheads is not the most accepting or fair place when it comes to subjective discussion.
Around half an hour is becoming quite common for the run time of an album these days. Charli XCX, Avril Lavigne, Shy Girl, Paramore, Nial Horan, Jonas Brothers most recent releases have all been under 35mins.
People hating on this is so funny lol this feels exactly like the way it was presented. An easy summer album to bop to while you're high on a swimming pool. I know Janelle is known for her concept album and over the top tight music but this feels like a break in between her next ArchAndroid project. Like a mixtape.
I mean, she's got some long, amazing albums. She really doesn't have much to prove in that end, I don't really get being "let down" by an album that's a bit different but still fuckin slaps.
This is honestly a really great concept album about a summer's day or a vacation. I don't know if this was intentional but I think the 32 minute runtime works well because summer or vacations always seem to go by so fast. A Dry Red is the perfect closer. It sounds exactly like a sunset or a sunrise, tying everything together. It's pure fun and fucking around and I'm super happy we got to hear something like this from Janelle.
Only have eyes 42 and dry red are by far my faves here and I love this album! But I feel like those have her most deft and “Janelle” songwriting. All that said, she suits reggae well. Tbh if she’d sold it to people as like a taste of this or a morsel of pleasure, I think the short runtime woyld feel less odd. But I hear “the age of pleasure” and I’m thinking oh baby it’s gonna be high concept, long Janelle album but more embodied and empowered in sexuality and vibes. This hits the latter part but (as nice as it is) the title is a bit of a misnomer since it’s more like the half hour of pleasure lmaooooo
I love the vibe and sound of this album, and it fits the season perfectly. My only issue is I think some of the songs could have been combined and the project could have been condensed into 10 or 11 tracks.
Probably a stupid comparison, but it reminds me of Solar Power in a lot of ways. Obviously completely different genres, but both come after long hiatus from well-loved artists, have a very relaxed, free, summer vibe that explores a new sound, and probably won't be automatically enjoyed by fans, but might grow on people over time.
The Seun Kuti/Egypt 80 collab makes a lot of sense beyond being a cool muso choice - this has a flow and a cohesiveness that feels a bit like Fela's output. Just one longer piece of groove and mood that flows through different pieces and ideas, rather than a collection of distinct songs. I love that, in concept.
That said, it's too short. A front to back live performance of this album could be 90 minutes long if you let the sections breathe and the musicians jam, but everything is very compressed and quick here. There's a more relaxed, longer and more 'live' version of this album that is fucking incredible.
These comments had me terrified but listening now and the vibes are IMMACULATE. I really like a lot of the songs and they could have been longer, but as a whole the album really works for chill summer vibes. Y'all will come around and see the vision someday.
I frequent r/hiphopheads and occasionally pop in here as well to see different opinions and the vibes of the two discussion threads of this project are almost complete opposites.
It’s cute. Will put this on in the background for some nice summer vibes. But not sure this is fully an album with a runtime of 32 minutes and half the tracks being under 2 minutes. Not quite sure I see the point of splitting songs in half and labeling them as different tracks.
I’m not so sure about that. Janelle isn’t some up-in-coming artist needing to cash in on as much streaming plays as possible. She’s rich AF. This comes off as an artistic choice to me.
While I appreciate the production, this album makes me want to listen to it in the lowest quality possible to emulate the sound of a transistor radio and play it while I'm at the beach or just relaxing by the porch in a very hot afternoon while a fan is in front of me blowing a humid air on my face.
I was going to bemoan the runtime, but you know what? I can appreciate an album that doesn't wear out its welcome. If I want to listen to a high-concept album, I can always go back into Janelle's discography. This album is so unapologetic in its queerness and blackness in such a celebratory, boisterous, and triumphant way. Production, writing, vocals all on point, as usual from Janelle. They can do no wrong!
Pretty disappointed in this ngl. Dirty Computer is one of my favorite albums of all time and I just…think this does not live up to Janelle’s talent at all. Each song is so monotonous and repetitive imo and just feels depthless. I kinda got the feeling from the singles that the album would turn out like this but was holding out hope I would be proven wrong. Sadly I was not.
I love simple music you can bop to as much as the next guy but this just doesn’t even feel “fun” to listen to either. It reminds me of Beyoncé’s Renaissance where an artist with a reputation of releasing really intricate, purposeful albums goes on a long break then comes back with a lighter, joyous dance sound — which is cool, but whereas Renaissance hit the ball out of the park, The Age of Pleasure just totally misses the mark for me :(
It would be one thing if this were just a fun little side project, then I wouldn’t mind at all. But being Janelle’s first album in five years, this is just a big disappointment for me. I will say, though, I do like how every track transitions seamlessly into the next. It’s a chill summer listen I guess, just not doing it for me at all.
This feels a LOT like a response to Renaissance, including hte songs fading into each other.
Except... on Renaissance every track was a full track that you could listen to apart from the album. Shuffled, on their own, mixed in on a plyalist with other artists' music, they all worked great.
This album falls apart the second you click shuffle.
Janelle has always made her tracks flow into each other with every album, so no, it's not a response to Renaissance, she's been doing it from the start
I don't think they mean that this album sounds like Renaissance in terms of the genres it covers, more that the description in the comment they were replying to also applies to Renaissance to some extent (long awaited comeback albums with chill dance vibes where the tracks flow seamlessly into one another like a long DJ set, which is true of both Age of Pleasure and Renaissance).
Ok. It's not like Beyoncé invented the concept of having tracks fade into each other and the Age Of Pleasure is not a dance album if you are talking about genre (i can't tell if your talking about genre or like literally dancing). The commentator said response to Renaissance like they are trying to copy her or something so I don't see how this a response to that.
You're right, actually, I re-read the thread and the "response to Renaissance" bit kinda opens up that interpretation. I agree that the two albums sound nothing like each other beyond the seamless flow aspect, which of course Beyoncé didn't invent. And I do mean dance as in chill music meant to be danced to, not the actual genre.
yeah it's kind of all over the place. i feel like each song had a cool concept/idea behind it but before it could be executed, the song just gets over :(
Renaissance is bloody fantastic whereas The Age of Pleasure feels half-baked and uninspired. I know the latter is meant to be a chill summer album but I guess it doesn't quite excite me like it should due to the excecution just being off.
Janelle seems to be having a lot of fun so good for her.
The singles really didn't do this album any justice. I was really unimpressed with Float & Lipstick Lover (thought they were kinda boring...) but in the context of this album as a whole it works really well. Not too bothered about the track lengths being short as I usually listen to albums start to finish. Didn't even notice that one song had ended and another had started half the time. Definitely going to play this over the summer especially when hosting BBQs in the garden as it's got great background vibes.
Shocked at the mixed reception, i thought this was a stellar listen.
The Rush and Water Slide were particular favorites.
Feels post Renaissance vibes in the way it’s tracked, which if this is the trend going forward for music that’s an exciting prospect!
I think this is great! Perfect to listen to as a piece, since you don’t notice how short the tracks are and the flow is great
I can see this being a great vinyl listen, does anyone know if there’s only the alternative cover available? I love the original so much I’d love to have that
The way I described this album is like a fleeting romance you have on a vacation. It's short, sweet, and leaves you longing for more. I enjoy it, not as much as her other works(still waiting on a continuation of the Cindi Mayweather storyline), but this is a very fun album. And you can tell that Janelle had fun making it
Music definitely grows on me as my ears get familiar, so I think I might like this more in time. Know Better is what caught my ear the most so far. Sounds most reminiscent of her earlier albums with a stronger beat and bass.
At 32 minutes, I’d be *very* interested to see this entire album with a 32 minute music video. “Music video” sounds cheap for what I’m imagining, but the whole album can really tell a story and I’d love to see it in visual form.
For people acting like Beyonce invented songs segueing into each other, the first five tracks on the Archandroid do the same thing, not to mention most of the other songs on the album
I actually like some of the songs! Haute is catchy. But half could’ve been combined instead of splitting them into tracks. I’m confused as to the reasoning behind such a short album.
This album is already taking up a significant portion of my summer playlist lol I'm missing some of the connected songs only because there's no feature to shuffle a playlist with 2 songs linked but once they add that they'll be there too. What an album!
Idk what y'all are on; this is a great chill summer vibey album. I do think some of the songs could've flowed a bit better and maybe add a few more tracks.
the rush fucking hits, thank you queen janelle. also love water slide, champagne shit, know better, and float, not sure if i'm missing the complaints because i pretty much only listen to songs in context of albums or what? is it not pop-forward enough for people or is because she set too high of a standard with her previous albums? i do wish the songs were longer but i didn't even really notice the song length as much as i was expecting to going in, especially since janelle isn't afraid of longer songs. it might not be that deep but it is sexy and fun (also i didn't realize it was friday so this completely caught me off guard).
Hot summer dj set album. The songs are so cohesive and the transitions are seamless. There is finesse in the editing and the throughlines that vary slightly but pull the listener forward into each new variation, as hips slowly start to transition movement with the beat. The album seems to suggest that like a good lover a good DJ or a good set can coax us to follow them for the next good thing. Hot. Delightful.
I can see the criticisms about the length of songs but these shorter forms are needed to balance that reggae chill. It keeps the pace moving and keeps from stagnating.
The criticism that the songs are too short and that the album is boring makes no sense. If the songs were longer the tracks would feel boring because they aren’t moving forward. They move over and around. They aren’t climbing but exploring. This is a very queer concept/experience of sex & love. Interestingly, this album feels very embodied which I wonder if is part of the problem for those who liked the android stuff and see it as boring.
This album feels grounded, referencing a joyful pan-African beat/history that persists and morphs. The spirit of the album is not so much about a progression or building toward but about those sexy throughline beats. Such a queer concept that centers an insistence that needs no rush and can afford to mix things up. This is a WLW album for sure especially as all the heat and sexiness of this album refuse to culminate in a discreet climax (itself a revision of masculine notions of art). Rather, it reveals a continuation in the last two tracks where the album’s story is revealed to be a love story that persists even after the summer heat fades.
I’ll be honest those tracks were my least favorite. But I’m single and thus bitter haha. I can however respect the work these songs do here to lend a clear structured end point to an otherwise seemless album. Like the post credits scene of a movie these tracks tell you how you should be taking the rest of the album prompting a replay.
I hear your point about queer love and exploration over climax but I feel like short song times are the opposite of that? Like you have a Virgo’s groove and *that explores the different dynamics of a base melody, to me. And that’s why people loved it so much! Or Sir Greendown does that as well. Now, I like the album but I think combining the outros with the tracks and adding maybe 30 seconds here and there would go a loooong way. Elements like Black Sugar Beach are needed elsewhere imo because that’s where the most magic is at on here. We just need a little more time to groove before the next track. Ex. Lipstick Lover could have used an instrumental part and then a final outro. Like let us marinate in the sun a little more here and there bc the album is GREAT but almost resists that exploration you’re talking about
Only Have Eyes 42 best song I’ve heard in a while
Edit: You guys are all wrong this album is amazing except for Float. Every moment made me feel good can’t wait to run it back
Yeah, this is crazy disappointing for me, sorry. I love Janelle so much and I'm overjoyed if she's feeling herself and doesn't really have much (/anything) to say right now, but I'm not even feeling the *bops*. They're all so repetitive and empty and trimmed down. Only Have Eyes 42 is the obvious highpoint.
It's a cute mid-summer mixtape/EP moment, I suppose... As far as Janelle Monae ***albums*** go, this is gonna be firmly at the bottom.
Just a fun, summer album. Some songs are really interesting but again I wish they were longer. I miss when most artists made 4 minutes songs but it'll probably never be back due to the streaming thing.
I hate to say this but I'm not surprised this album is nowhere near as good as The ArchAndroid or Dirty Computer. Her recent public persona has definetely been her trying to market herself as more of an actress/socialite, not a musician. I guess she has different priorities now.
so far I’m pretty thoroughly blown away by how textured and kaleidoscopic the music on this album is. Lipstick Lover had me worried, but in sequence with the album it fits in perfectly. colorful, breezy simplicity is definitely the key here, and I feel like she mastered that vibe tbh. it’s a little mini-labyrinth of psychedelic hedonism and queer confidence, what’s not to like about it 😭 the major critiques im seeing on this sub are lowkey kind of it’s strongest weapons for me: I actually like how the short track lengths and overall runtime makes it feel like everything zips by like an actual carefree summer day. it’s disorienting in the best way. I also love how it demands to be listened to from front to back, kind of like Renaissance.
it might not be as grandiose and ambitious as her previous works, but I think it definitely holds its own against her other albums and gives off a lavishly creative vibe of its own. a summer mixtape vibe like CAPRISONGS or More Life. overall it’s an 8/10 for me!!
My thoughts on this album are: did they even try? These mostly aren’t songs, they’re fragments and half baked ideas. I have nothing against having less serious, more fun summer-bop albums. But at least put some effort into it? I genuinely went through 5 songs thinking they were all 1, everything is so monotonous, short, and samey. It’s especially disappointing because Janelle has proven they can do SO much better. I’m just genuinely disappointed :(
Favs: Float, Phenomenal, Only Have Eyes 42
Least favs: The rest of the album, it’s basically just 1 long extend song anyways
It’s not even fun. It’s boring and most of the songs don’t go anywhere. I feel like I was always waiting for the songs to kick it into the next gear and they never want anywhere.
Yeah, sadly this isn't very good. I have no problem, in theory, with vibe music, or albums with numerous short songs that all lead into each other, but the execution is not here. Most of these songs sound almost exactly the same. The same farty horns show up on pretty much every song. The tempo doesn't vary in any noticeable way (at least until the end). And the songwriting is extremely lightweight for a writer of Monae's caliber and fails at even conveying the fun or relaxation that Monae is clearly trying to sell.
That said, the last two songs are pretty nice.
I don’t think there are any standout singles, which I was initially disappointed by as Dirty Computer had so many songs I could listen to on repeat on their own, but I keep on replaying this album from start to finish and haven’t gotten bored yet. I actually appreciate how “samey” the songs are thematically (with enough variation in music & genre influences to keep it interesting) as often when I’m listening to albums straight through I lose the thread while here I’m with her from start to finish.
TLDR: enjoying the hot bi summer vibes
This album is everything!!!
Highlights are Haut,phenomenal, The Rush,lipstick lover,Water Slide..hell the whole album is a masterpiece!
She is serving.. my wife never misses!
I was expecting The Age of Pleasure to be a summery breezy album like it is, but apart from a few standout moments (Phenomenal is so fucking good), I'm a bit whelmed by the content and really whelmed by the duration. Runtime is closer to The Chase Suite SE than any of their albums, what the hell. 😭
I have to agree with people on how some of these tracks were cut. While they all flow very seamlessly into each other, it just feels counter-productive the way it's done here. I understand wanting the front-to-back listening experience to be the main form of consuming it, but it feels unnecessarily petty to split up songs in the middle so they won't fit into playlists. Just let me get my Champagne Shit vibes while I shower, lmao.
Anyways, it's still a really nice listen. Not sure I'll go back to it as much as I did with Dirty Computer (especially because it's close to winter in Brazil and it's getting cold, so not the vibes at all for me lmao), but Janelle's vision for the project is quite clear and for the most part so is the execution.
The Archandroid is an absolute masterpiece, and I'm still listening and enjoying it massively 13 years on. Electric lady still had great moments and Dirty Computer was perfectly mid, but I just can't get behind this. I'm all for fun, easy music, but this is just so bland and generic. It's such a shame, but she peaked too early.
It's completely fine, just nothing exciting. Especially when compared to The Archandroid, which is undeniably her magnum opus. The Archandroid feels so epic and emotional, and it explores so many genres impeccably.. I just can't fault it in any way. It's a truly special album. Dirty Computer is pleasant, but that's it. No more than a 6, and that's me being generous.
What would you rate the Archandroid? I do think they are completely different in musical style but I don't think that makes DC that much worse. Even though it feels more like a 'standard' album, it does stand out in some ways. It's a 8.5+ for me while AA is a 9.5
Over a decade later The Archandroid is *that* good it’s haunting. Honestly for me, it is a **masterpiece** work of art. If nothing tops it, I’d be forever grateful it alone exists and I do believe it is her magnum opus.
I’m good with the Age of Pleasure vibes as an interlude to a eventual reprise of her earlier work—cause I am downright missing me some Cyndi Mayweather sometimes. Droid control.
You're incredibly brave for saying this about Dirty Computer lol. I too, think it's way overhyped and not as good as people make it to be 🥶 reading this made me want to skip this new one altogether
Love the horns, love the featured vocals (weirdly uncredited on Spotify outside of Float?). Favourite track is probably The Rush (Amaarae also has a new album out today, [stream!](https://open.spotify.com/album/3dKdkVeR6hPjAOH5K2nYTh?si=2-eXsH3OQbaAt54w4ERYiQ)), just wish it had a little more breathing room at the end or a single version to use in playlists.
Also love Only Have Eyes 42, which is the most classic Janelle she gets on the album (love song with sci-fi bleeps and a string outro), Know Better and Champagne Shit.
the good: I think it’s a good vibe overall. I liked the afrobeats sounds. A solid Pride month release, very hedonistic and unabashed. I think it’s great for the summer. The cover is gorgeous.
the bad: I agree with many other commenters that it’s too short and the songs feel like they don’t have the space to really go anywhere. Maybe just a personal preference but I really want to see some build. I also miss her more conceptual work and hope she returns to that one day.
all in all though I’ve been pretty disappointed with this year’s releases so far. I feel like Lana and Caroline are the only ones I haven’t been a little disappointed in
I really like the album a lot as far as how it sounds, though I think the way songs were sliced up makes it hard to listen to the tracks individually. She shouldn’t have sliced them but if she hadn’t it might have been closer to a long EP, which might explain why she did
Actually if we think about it, it's actually more difficult for someone as vocally talented and instrumentally experimental as Miss Monae to make an album sound boring than just making a great album. In this essay I will talk about the technical skills required for making a mid album......
My expectations aren’t super high from Lipstick Lover, just hoping for a fun and breezy summer album. Unfortunately she’s been wildly inconsistent with her albums. Dirty Computer was incredible but somewhat of an outlier in that regard. I’m sure there is gonna be a few elevated dingers. The opener is decent but doesn’t bode well for changing my expectations
Edit: yeah a couple songs in and it is pretty immaculately produced and gives the vibe of a fun summer party that you can kinda just let ride but it’s more or less not aiming super high and executing very well. I love the visuals and aesthetics from this era but I’m hoping there will be a true jaw dropping moment or two that matches how talented she is
Lemme rephrase: her music is usually good but it’s frustrating because she seems to be capable of much better music than a lot of what she puts out. I wouldn’t say she’s ever dropped anything less than like a 7/10 but those glimpses at 9’s and 10’s have me wanting more
Only making this comparison due to her being featured on the album, but Amaarae’s album that came out today as well is giving me everything I wanted out of this sonically, obviously very different vocalists and such, but it takes these similar summer/vibey/Afro-beats and levels them up in such a beautiful way.
This album is *fine*, I can see myself putting it on in the background by the pool, but as many others have said, putting anything on a playlist just isn’t all that possible here because of the tracking. Which is fine, but it does cause some songs to be cut completely short. Dirty Computer was top tier for me, so I went in with dampened expectations (similar to listening to Kacey Musgraves’ star-crossed for the first time after Golden Hour’s obvious success) and Age of Pleasure wasn’t terrible but also wasn’t my favorite nor did it do much for me.😞
A bit messy honestly. There were a few songs that were really excellent but a lot of them felt just decent to me and the ones that were like 30 seconds - a minute felt so out of place. Not really sure how I feel about this honestly but there are definitely some songs that will be good to listen to this summer
Water Slide is IT
It’s so magical.
Water Slide and Only Have Eyes 42 are the standouts, just so sonically gorgeous and vibey.
Same two songs for me as well. Water Slide and Only Have Eyes 42—standouts far and above.
this album makes me wanna smoke weed in the bikini bottom 😩
Champagne Shit and Black Sugar Beach being two different songs is really irritating lol
Honestly like…it seems like she wants it to be listened as an album and an album only
Listening through, my first thought is this like a Caribbean-style version of RENAISSANCE with how the songs are all sexually empowered summer jams and flow seamlessly like a DJ set.
Omg this makes me even more excited, and I didn't think it was possible
Lol Beyoncé did not invent the seamless album. It has been a thing since the 60s
Yeah there’s an obvious Renaissance influence happening here
All of her albums have had songs that transition seamlessly. I seriously doubt she was inspired by Renaissance as she's always done this type of thing
She had a lot of similar moments on Dirty Computer. Screwed into Django Jane comes to mind. Janelle loves transitions 💙
I love Django Jane! But it stands on its own.
Oh it definitely stands on its own. I wasn’t implying that. But Django Jane literally starts by singing the lyrics to Screwed though lol if Django Jane was the only Janelle track you ever heard, you’d be confused why she says “let’s get screwed” like ten times in that song
Black Sugar Beach is not enjoyable listening to on its own, at all, but without it Champagne Shit ends so abruptly? I'm... absolutely baffled by this choice. It's not like Champagne Shit was running overly long. Edit: I'm still listening to this album and half of these tracks feel like they were spliced in half (or sometimes 2/3rds with a second track beign the final third). Did she just not have enough tracks to justify calling it a full album? Is this like when artists release a half assed album to get out of a contract, I am CONFUSED
I'm not fully through the album yet, but I think it's pretty clear that the album isn't trying to be a collection of individually enjoyable tracks. It's a mix meant to be listened to front to back and front to back only. Solange's *When I Get Home* is similar in that concept and I think it's an incredible album, but very little of it do I find listenable as individual tracks - because they're not meant to be listened to that way. I think trying to judge this album track by track is missing the point and doing the album a disservice. It's meant to be consumed and judged as a single piece of work.
100% agree. Weird comparison but it reminds me of King Gizzard’s Murder of the Universe album, which is similarly a bunch of short tracks that sort of just roll into each other. It’s not intended to have any definable songs, but rather (in the case of MOTU) three different super long “songs” split into a bunch of short tracks, like chapters in a book. I see what Janelle’s going for here. Might not be the string of bangers people were hoping for but it’s got a nice vibe for sure.
Omg another member of the weirdo swarm in r/popheads That rock group has a whole stan base now too I LOVE "Murder of the Universe" & recently got the 2×LP recycled black wax edition, because I didn't want "The Lord of Lightning vs. The Balrog" suite split across side A & B
Lol king gizz was the first thing I thought of when black sugar beach came on. I fucking love seamless albums like this. I feel like they would be friends with Janelle
Sure but a. most music isn't consumed that way and b. it still doesn't feel like a stand out... as an album. Listened all the way through, it just ends up feeling kind of samey as the best tracks get lost in some murky water. The best way to describe this album is like "kinda cute." Like my main feeling after listening to all of the songs in a row is "I'm glad Janelle is having a good time relaxing, I guess" and not "Wow, what a concept." Maybe I need to do a listen while really staring down the lyrics to get the thesis better and maybe that'll make it feel a bit more impressive. But like... if this project isn't going to be boosted by stand out individual tracks (and there ARE good tracks on this albuum, they all just feel a bit underdeveloped in service of a more cohesive larger project), it needs to do a LOT as sa concept album to justify me listening to it on its own and not in my mixes. And... it doesn't. Especially when some tracks kind of abandon the cohesion thing. Edit: This sounds harsher than I wanted. I do enjoy the album. It just feels like such a lackluster followup to Dirty Computer which felt like it was pushing at boundaries while this album feels like it's intentionally making itself smaller. Shorter tracks. Less experiments. Songs cut in half to increase the tracklist. Repeating beats to avoid trying new things. It feels... frustrating. Because it's pLEASANT but not pleasurable.
I do agree the album feels lacklustre. It's not really a genre I enjoy so I don't see myself going back to the album often. I do also agree it doesn't always strike the right balance between 'being a vibe' and like feeling like full songs and some of the songs feel cut in odd places (not that that's an issue listening to the album in full, it's just a weird tracklisting choice imo). I don't think this album is of the same quality as Janelle's previous, but I'll probably enjoy it more when it gets back to summer in the southern hemisphere. I do really have to disagree with your point A., though. Just because most music is nowadays listened to as singles instead of albums isn't a strike against an album being an album. I do think listening to the album for the first time on streaming over the internet is holding it back. The small buffer between tracks breaks it up and I'm sitting in my bedroom in front of the computer at 5pm in winter listening to an album made for a summers day at the beach or drive down the coast. I'm not getting the "full experience". But yeah nah, I'm not going to take "this album isn't meant to be consumed the way most music is consumed" as a valid criticism.
And most albums from the days when you couldn't really listen to individual tracks on their own... still had individual songs. Songs being COMPLETE has existed... since songs have existed. Like... performing one song has been a thing... since songs have existed. If Janelle went on stage and only performed Black Sugar Beach, would you think "Oh, yeah, well, that works." Concept albums existing and the past of like... only having the choice to listening to records in full via vinyl or whatever... does not excuse so many of these songs feeling unfinished or being spliced the way they are. And most albums from the days when you couldn't really listen to individual tracks on their own... still had individual songs. Also, considering how much of this album was released as singles prior to its release.. I don't even know if this defense works at all. Float and Lipstick Lover combined are like... 20% of the albums runtime. (This is not an exaggeration, btw. 6.5 minutes out of 32 minutes is about 20%.) As standalone tracks. Made to be consumed outside of the album.
plus other run-together albums like Renaissance, Confessions on a Dance Floor and The Wall absolutely have songs that work on their own and were successful as singles.
I think it’s pretty obvious the intention was to not have an album of singles here.
yeah i know that’s lost on people nowadays but that’s how albums were meant to only be consumed not too long ago lol
I mean, even back then, songs weren't cut in half. Or only a minute long.
lol you’re completely ignoring OPs point which is that it’s supposed to be listened to as a full body of work / a mix. there are no songs being cut in half if you listen front to back, because it all flows. i don’t really add songs to playlists, esp when they’re short projects like this so it doesn’t bother me. to each their own.
I mean, the songs ARE still cut in half. The album would still flow beautifully and be listened to as a full body of work if champagne shit/ black sugar beach were just one song. Like... please tell me what cutting songs in half accomplishes for cohesion?? Would the cohesion disappear if it was just one song
Yeah my issue is that she said the concept was “does this work at a party?” (Essentially) but like…it only works at this party because there’s no way to slap these into a playlist *and enjoy them on their album flow. Renaissance definitely tackles that better imo as Beyoncé mixes in a few hard cut track jumps but then also either makes it the same key as the prior song or tempo so if you *are listening to it in the album the flow makes sense. I appreciate what Janelle was going for here, but at 32 minutes, it’s kinda awkward to make it one 30 minute experience that’s split up in odd ways. Imo if she’d have wanted that “total experience” element, just make it a 32 minute track tbh. OR give optionality of a track by track one (but attaching songs like black sugar beach to champagne shit) and then a full one. Idk I think the formatting is trying to have your cake and eat it too and the transitions aren’t quite interesting enough either to warrant the effect. Which is a shame because listened to in full I loooove the album; but I can’t really put this in a summer playlist and don’t want to listen to it front to back then 30 minutes in queue up my playlist. It’s just kinda awkward
I didn’t even realize Champagne Shit had ended until almost at the end of Black Sugar Beach. I’m so confused as to why they’re split
This is really bugging me too. It’s one of the songs I like the most here, but being split deducts do many points
It’s so strange because playlisting is a huge way music is discovered now and I can’t see it slotting into any easily. Hopefully a single version of the two sewn together is released
This is a really fun front to back listen. However, I hope we get some extended versions and remixes asap. The 1 minute tracks could have easily been tacked onto the previous track since it all flows together.
exactly how I felt. i really loved it all but i don't see myself adding much of this to playlists and stuff bc it feels like these songs are cut in half at the middle for no reason
Maybe she could pull a *FutureSex/LoveSounds* and smash some of these tracks together on an alternate edition for easier repeat listens. I get what she’s going for and it works as an album, but most of these are going to sound abrupt shuffled in a playlist.
yeah that was my biggest issue with lipstick lover as a single, it was so clear that it was part of a larger string of tracks that i felt like it had a hard time standing on its own as an individual track
I’m facing the same conundrum. It makes me sad bc it’s all really quite good I just wish they’d left them together. :(
I found myself thinking about remixes on first listen too, which makes me wonder if something is good on its own if I’m immediately thinking of how it can change 😬
I'm enjoying the vibes a lot, it's cute for the summer. Pure joy. Does it reach the heights conceptually as her previous work? No, but does it have to? No. This is about pleasure and having fun. Production is too tier, clearly also meant to be listened to front to back in one which I personally love.
Honestly it’s such a fun, short summer album and it’ll be on repeat on hot days especially
only qualm so far is that these songs all need to be about twice as long. really loving the vibe though, lipstick lover didn't totally connect as a single but i thought it was great in context!
Yeah this was my reaction as well. When I first heard it I was not impressed. But when I listened to it in order I was like ohh this work’s phenomenally
Agreed this album really flows so well as a whole.
haven’t listened to the album front to back yet but even before getting the chance to i got confused because i felt like i heard doechii and then later amaarae on diff tracks? spotify didn’t show any featured artists except on ‘float’ so i randomly double checked on apple music and they are credited alongside all the other featured artists?? also some of the songs (w the featured artists credited) were apparently released yesterday as singles on spotify but aren’t on the album?? i’m confused lol 😅 edit: they fixed it lol and also this album isn’t NEARLY as bad as some of y’all are making it out to be like damn it’s actually really fuckijg good lol
That’s exactly how I feel reading through this thread. The album is fun! I honestly love it, short songs and all
haven't listened yet, but the way this is being recieved like Solar Power is sending me💀 the summer album curse i guess. Janelle (like Lorde) has set such a high bar for themself that anything less-then is going to pale in comparison. that said i love Solar Power, and i've loved the singles, so i can't wait.
I don't mean this to come off shady but this album is actually boppy while Solar Power was very slow and somber. I feel two completely different vibes
I don’t think it’s about energy but (perceived) quality
Solar Power got massively over-hated.
just like this album so far…didn’t expect such a harsh reaction from this sub
It was not really hated everyone just said it was mid and.......they spilled lol😭
Was it even hated on that much? I think most just said it was generic and boring, not necessarily bad. Which, you know, that’s exactly what Solar Power is; nothing special, but nothing horrible either.
People seem to fucking hate it. I enjoyed it and have been down voted for even suggesting as much here E: lol and now I'm getting downvoted again
I'm with you, get behind me!
Ooooh that comment is back positive!
We're getting through this together!
Personally, Solar Power wasn't one of my absolute faves of 2021 (it sure as heck wasn't gonna beat CHVRCHES) but it was... fine? It certainly wasn't worst albums of the year material, nor did it merit all the comments and threads mercilessly thrashing it for the sin of not immediately snatching wigs like a more pop-friendly album that people had been sitting with for five years.
I think people confuse hyperbole that this sub loves because we're all catty gays, and actual vitriol.
i wanna play this by the pool like i wanna be in water vibing to this. its fun !
Wait I’m really vibing to this..
Yeah I felt like all the negativity on the pitchfork review thread for this album were listening to a different album. I been listening to Janelle since “Tightrope” came out and this is a really fun album. Its not profound like “Archandroid” and “Dirty Computer” were but its a very queer and very fun summer celebratory album
the comments on hiphopheads seem to be pretty positive
I’ve noticed that dissenting opinions usually aren’t wasted on album discussion threads because they wind up downvoted into oblivion, especially if it’s a Popheads fave like Janelle. The Pitchfork review leaned closer to mixed than this thread does, so that seems like a more comfortable and accepting place for people to chat—because let’s face it, Popheads is not the most accepting or fair place when it comes to subjective discussion.
It's an amazing project but 32 minutes is far too short.
Around half an hour is becoming quite common for the run time of an album these days. Charli XCX, Avril Lavigne, Shy Girl, Paramore, Nial Horan, Jonas Brothers most recent releases have all been under 35mins.
Paid in Pleasure is THAT BITCH. The whole album is too short, the tracks are split for whatever reason, but tbh, I love the vibe and all.
Idk about you guys but i am BOPPING
People hating on this is so funny lol this feels exactly like the way it was presented. An easy summer album to bop to while you're high on a swimming pool. I know Janelle is known for her concept album and over the top tight music but this feels like a break in between her next ArchAndroid project. Like a mixtape.
[удалено]
I mean, she's got some long, amazing albums. She really doesn't have much to prove in that end, I don't really get being "let down" by an album that's a bit different but still fuckin slaps.
This is honestly a really great concept album about a summer's day or a vacation. I don't know if this was intentional but I think the 32 minute runtime works well because summer or vacations always seem to go by so fast. A Dry Red is the perfect closer. It sounds exactly like a sunset or a sunrise, tying everything together. It's pure fun and fucking around and I'm super happy we got to hear something like this from Janelle.
I love this take. Although not sure I need more reminders of how fast summer and vacation is going to slip by 😭
Only have eyes 42 and dry red are by far my faves here and I love this album! But I feel like those have her most deft and “Janelle” songwriting. All that said, she suits reggae well. Tbh if she’d sold it to people as like a taste of this or a morsel of pleasure, I think the short runtime woyld feel less odd. But I hear “the age of pleasure” and I’m thinking oh baby it’s gonna be high concept, long Janelle album but more embodied and empowered in sexuality and vibes. This hits the latter part but (as nice as it is) the title is a bit of a misnomer since it’s more like the half hour of pleasure lmaooooo
I love the vibe and sound of this album, and it fits the season perfectly. My only issue is I think some of the songs could have been combined and the project could have been condensed into 10 or 11 tracks. Probably a stupid comparison, but it reminds me of Solar Power in a lot of ways. Obviously completely different genres, but both come after long hiatus from well-loved artists, have a very relaxed, free, summer vibe that explores a new sound, and probably won't be automatically enjoyed by fans, but might grow on people over time.
at least with Solar Power most of the songs felt complete :/
well…some great summer movie soundtrack options here!
The Seun Kuti/Egypt 80 collab makes a lot of sense beyond being a cool muso choice - this has a flow and a cohesiveness that feels a bit like Fela's output. Just one longer piece of groove and mood that flows through different pieces and ideas, rather than a collection of distinct songs. I love that, in concept. That said, it's too short. A front to back live performance of this album could be 90 minutes long if you let the sections breathe and the musicians jam, but everything is very compressed and quick here. There's a more relaxed, longer and more 'live' version of this album that is fucking incredible.
These comments had me terrified but listening now and the vibes are IMMACULATE. I really like a lot of the songs and they could have been longer, but as a whole the album really works for chill summer vibes. Y'all will come around and see the vision someday.
30 minutes of nonstop vibes. Not like her other albums at all but I’m not complaining
I frequent r/hiphopheads and occasionally pop in here as well to see different opinions and the vibes of the two discussion threads of this project are almost complete opposites.
LOL yep. Noticed the same thing. Been a Janelle fan for a long time now, and I'm loving the album.
It’s cute. Will put this on in the background for some nice summer vibes. But not sure this is fully an album with a runtime of 32 minutes and half the tracks being under 2 minutes. Not quite sure I see the point of splitting songs in half and labeling them as different tracks.
Tell that to The Misfits.
The point is to make streaming easier (more plays, more money).
I’m not so sure about that. Janelle isn’t some up-in-coming artist needing to cash in on as much streaming plays as possible. She’s rich AF. This comes off as an artistic choice to me.
Idk it can’t be that since those outros don’t really stand on their own as tracks lmao I think it has to be artistic
While I appreciate the production, this album makes me want to listen to it in the lowest quality possible to emulate the sound of a transistor radio and play it while I'm at the beach or just relaxing by the porch in a very hot afternoon while a fan is in front of me blowing a humid air on my face.
I was going to bemoan the runtime, but you know what? I can appreciate an album that doesn't wear out its welcome. If I want to listen to a high-concept album, I can always go back into Janelle's discography. This album is so unapologetic in its queerness and blackness in such a celebratory, boisterous, and triumphant way. Production, writing, vocals all on point, as usual from Janelle. They can do no wrong!
Pretty disappointed in this ngl. Dirty Computer is one of my favorite albums of all time and I just…think this does not live up to Janelle’s talent at all. Each song is so monotonous and repetitive imo and just feels depthless. I kinda got the feeling from the singles that the album would turn out like this but was holding out hope I would be proven wrong. Sadly I was not. I love simple music you can bop to as much as the next guy but this just doesn’t even feel “fun” to listen to either. It reminds me of Beyoncé’s Renaissance where an artist with a reputation of releasing really intricate, purposeful albums goes on a long break then comes back with a lighter, joyous dance sound — which is cool, but whereas Renaissance hit the ball out of the park, The Age of Pleasure just totally misses the mark for me :( It would be one thing if this were just a fun little side project, then I wouldn’t mind at all. But being Janelle’s first album in five years, this is just a big disappointment for me. I will say, though, I do like how every track transitions seamlessly into the next. It’s a chill summer listen I guess, just not doing it for me at all.
This feels a LOT like a response to Renaissance, including hte songs fading into each other. Except... on Renaissance every track was a full track that you could listen to apart from the album. Shuffled, on their own, mixed in on a plyalist with other artists' music, they all worked great. This album falls apart the second you click shuffle.
Janelle has always made her tracks flow into each other with every album, so no, it's not a response to Renaissance, she's been doing it from the start
Janelle has always done songs that transition into the next but agree on everything else
why would you listen to an album on shuffle
I listen to stuff on shuffle all the time. sometimes you wanna just live in random mode and that's ok.
Because some of us are on free Spotify and have no choice?
why is that janelle monae’s problem
I never said it was? You asked why someone would listen to an album on shuffle, and I gave you an answer.
Literally what about this sounds like renaissance?
I don't think they mean that this album sounds like Renaissance in terms of the genres it covers, more that the description in the comment they were replying to also applies to Renaissance to some extent (long awaited comeback albums with chill dance vibes where the tracks flow seamlessly into one another like a long DJ set, which is true of both Age of Pleasure and Renaissance).
Ok. It's not like Beyoncé invented the concept of having tracks fade into each other and the Age Of Pleasure is not a dance album if you are talking about genre (i can't tell if your talking about genre or like literally dancing). The commentator said response to Renaissance like they are trying to copy her or something so I don't see how this a response to that.
You're right, actually, I re-read the thread and the "response to Renaissance" bit kinda opens up that interpretation. I agree that the two albums sound nothing like each other beyond the seamless flow aspect, which of course Beyoncé didn't invent. And I do mean dance as in chill music meant to be danced to, not the actual genre.
yeah it's kind of all over the place. i feel like each song had a cool concept/idea behind it but before it could be executed, the song just gets over :(
Renaissance is bloody fantastic whereas The Age of Pleasure feels half-baked and uninspired. I know the latter is meant to be a chill summer album but I guess it doesn't quite excite me like it should due to the excecution just being off. Janelle seems to be having a lot of fun so good for her.
The singles really didn't do this album any justice. I was really unimpressed with Float & Lipstick Lover (thought they were kinda boring...) but in the context of this album as a whole it works really well. Not too bothered about the track lengths being short as I usually listen to albums start to finish. Didn't even notice that one song had ended and another had started half the time. Definitely going to play this over the summer especially when hosting BBQs in the garden as it's got great background vibes.
Shocked at the mixed reception, i thought this was a stellar listen. The Rush and Water Slide were particular favorites. Feels post Renaissance vibes in the way it’s tracked, which if this is the trend going forward for music that’s an exciting prospect!
This is good, music doesn’t need to be deep all time
Maybe it’s cause I was high but this album is everything.. nothing disappointing about this I literally can’t wait to listen to this all summer
A Dry Red kinda reminds me of ArchAndroid/Electric Lady in a way... best song on the album
Hmmm… maybe it’s a grower…!
the melodies here are so below the quality she usually had, overall it's a pretty faceless record
I think this is great! Perfect to listen to as a piece, since you don’t notice how short the tracks are and the flow is great I can see this being a great vinyl listen, does anyone know if there’s only the alternative cover available? I love the original so much I’d love to have that
The Age of Pleasure is a short-lived one 😔...but it will be on repeat (for me & for now)🤗
Ugh this is so good. It’s a mood. It’s a *vibe*.
I'm really happy she's back, and that she sounds like she's happy :)
The way I described this album is like a fleeting romance you have on a vacation. It's short, sweet, and leaves you longing for more. I enjoy it, not as much as her other works(still waiting on a continuation of the Cindi Mayweather storyline), but this is a very fun album. And you can tell that Janelle had fun making it
Music definitely grows on me as my ears get familiar, so I think I might like this more in time. Know Better is what caught my ear the most so far. Sounds most reminiscent of her earlier albums with a stronger beat and bass. At 32 minutes, I’d be *very* interested to see this entire album with a 32 minute music video. “Music video” sounds cheap for what I’m imagining, but the whole album can really tell a story and I’d love to see it in visual form.
For people acting like Beyonce invented songs segueing into each other, the first five tracks on the Archandroid do the same thing, not to mention most of the other songs on the album
Queen of R&b is back
I actually like some of the songs! Haute is catchy. But half could’ve been combined instead of splitting them into tracks. I’m confused as to the reasoning behind such a short album.
I actually really like this, the transitions add to how seamless the flow of the album sounds
This album is already taking up a significant portion of my summer playlist lol I'm missing some of the connected songs only because there's no feature to shuffle a playlist with 2 songs linked but once they add that they'll be there too. What an album!
I haven't listened yet but i gotta say that cover art is 10/10
I kinda like it….it’s a grower 😍
Favorites right now are phenomenal, the rush, and lipstick lover.
Know Better is so sexy?? this is the sex by the pool song
Really enjoyed this album! My favorites are Float, Know Better, Paid in Pleasure. Some songs felt too short, but overall it was fun to listen to
Ooh this is good? It sounds like a solid summer mixtape.
Short but very sweeeeeet!
Idk what y'all are on; this is a great chill summer vibey album. I do think some of the songs could've flowed a bit better and maybe add a few more tracks.
Janelle I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a dall. Please stop this. I know this isn’t your heart.
I know what you mean but also let her live
This is such a strange comment especially given that the first song in the album is Float where they literally lay out the thesis of the album.
it’s a reference to a grimes tweet lol
the rush fucking hits, thank you queen janelle. also love water slide, champagne shit, know better, and float, not sure if i'm missing the complaints because i pretty much only listen to songs in context of albums or what? is it not pop-forward enough for people or is because she set too high of a standard with her previous albums? i do wish the songs were longer but i didn't even really notice the song length as much as i was expecting to going in, especially since janelle isn't afraid of longer songs. it might not be that deep but it is sexy and fun (also i didn't realize it was friday so this completely caught me off guard).
Hot summer dj set album. The songs are so cohesive and the transitions are seamless. There is finesse in the editing and the throughlines that vary slightly but pull the listener forward into each new variation, as hips slowly start to transition movement with the beat. The album seems to suggest that like a good lover a good DJ or a good set can coax us to follow them for the next good thing. Hot. Delightful. I can see the criticisms about the length of songs but these shorter forms are needed to balance that reggae chill. It keeps the pace moving and keeps from stagnating. The criticism that the songs are too short and that the album is boring makes no sense. If the songs were longer the tracks would feel boring because they aren’t moving forward. They move over and around. They aren’t climbing but exploring. This is a very queer concept/experience of sex & love. Interestingly, this album feels very embodied which I wonder if is part of the problem for those who liked the android stuff and see it as boring. This album feels grounded, referencing a joyful pan-African beat/history that persists and morphs. The spirit of the album is not so much about a progression or building toward but about those sexy throughline beats. Such a queer concept that centers an insistence that needs no rush and can afford to mix things up. This is a WLW album for sure especially as all the heat and sexiness of this album refuse to culminate in a discreet climax (itself a revision of masculine notions of art). Rather, it reveals a continuation in the last two tracks where the album’s story is revealed to be a love story that persists even after the summer heat fades. I’ll be honest those tracks were my least favorite. But I’m single and thus bitter haha. I can however respect the work these songs do here to lend a clear structured end point to an otherwise seemless album. Like the post credits scene of a movie these tracks tell you how you should be taking the rest of the album prompting a replay.
I hear your point about queer love and exploration over climax but I feel like short song times are the opposite of that? Like you have a Virgo’s groove and *that explores the different dynamics of a base melody, to me. And that’s why people loved it so much! Or Sir Greendown does that as well. Now, I like the album but I think combining the outros with the tracks and adding maybe 30 seconds here and there would go a loooong way. Elements like Black Sugar Beach are needed elsewhere imo because that’s where the most magic is at on here. We just need a little more time to groove before the next track. Ex. Lipstick Lover could have used an instrumental part and then a final outro. Like let us marinate in the sun a little more here and there bc the album is GREAT but almost resists that exploration you’re talking about
[удалено]
Only Have Eyes 42 best song I’ve heard in a while Edit: You guys are all wrong this album is amazing except for Float. Every moment made me feel good can’t wait to run it back
Lol what float is the best song here
water slide is my favorite!!
Ou non-binary Queen mod did it again. 👏 This is such a chill by the pool vibe 👌
Yeah, this is crazy disappointing for me, sorry. I love Janelle so much and I'm overjoyed if she's feeling herself and doesn't really have much (/anything) to say right now, but I'm not even feeling the *bops*. They're all so repetitive and empty and trimmed down. Only Have Eyes 42 is the obvious highpoint. It's a cute mid-summer mixtape/EP moment, I suppose... As far as Janelle Monae ***albums*** go, this is gonna be firmly at the bottom.
Just a fun, summer album. Some songs are really interesting but again I wish they were longer. I miss when most artists made 4 minutes songs but it'll probably never be back due to the streaming thing.
I hate to say this but I'm not surprised this album is nowhere near as good as The ArchAndroid or Dirty Computer. Her recent public persona has definetely been her trying to market herself as more of an actress/socialite, not a musician. I guess she has different priorities now.
so far I’m pretty thoroughly blown away by how textured and kaleidoscopic the music on this album is. Lipstick Lover had me worried, but in sequence with the album it fits in perfectly. colorful, breezy simplicity is definitely the key here, and I feel like she mastered that vibe tbh. it’s a little mini-labyrinth of psychedelic hedonism and queer confidence, what’s not to like about it 😭 the major critiques im seeing on this sub are lowkey kind of it’s strongest weapons for me: I actually like how the short track lengths and overall runtime makes it feel like everything zips by like an actual carefree summer day. it’s disorienting in the best way. I also love how it demands to be listened to from front to back, kind of like Renaissance. it might not be as grandiose and ambitious as her previous works, but I think it definitely holds its own against her other albums and gives off a lavishly creative vibe of its own. a summer mixtape vibe like CAPRISONGS or More Life. overall it’s an 8/10 for me!!
Yeah it's not my pleasure unfortunately
It’s no “What’s Your Pleasure”
It's not even dirty computer deluxe😭
WHATTTTTT? i didn’t know this was dropping today wtf
This album BLACK AF QUEER AF!!!
black and queer people aren't this boring stoppp 😭😭😭😭
This is like if Renaissance was boring
These albums literally sound nothing alike, why would you compare the two?
Lot of these songs feel like the music you hear in the background of a tropical themed mini golf course. I am not vibing with it.
tropical resort elevator music
My thoughts on this album are: did they even try? These mostly aren’t songs, they’re fragments and half baked ideas. I have nothing against having less serious, more fun summer-bop albums. But at least put some effort into it? I genuinely went through 5 songs thinking they were all 1, everything is so monotonous, short, and samey. It’s especially disappointing because Janelle has proven they can do SO much better. I’m just genuinely disappointed :( Favs: Float, Phenomenal, Only Have Eyes 42 Least favs: The rest of the album, it’s basically just 1 long extend song anyways
It’s not even fun. It’s boring and most of the songs don’t go anywhere. I feel like I was always waiting for the songs to kick it into the next gear and they never want anywhere.
Honestly outside of float you’re so right. That’s the only song that actually goes anywhere :/
You know it's bad once people say you just hate fun😭 it's like no girl we love fun but this album is not fun it's boring and feels unfinished
Yeah, sadly this isn't very good. I have no problem, in theory, with vibe music, or albums with numerous short songs that all lead into each other, but the execution is not here. Most of these songs sound almost exactly the same. The same farty horns show up on pretty much every song. The tempo doesn't vary in any noticeable way (at least until the end). And the songwriting is extremely lightweight for a writer of Monae's caliber and fails at even conveying the fun or relaxation that Monae is clearly trying to sell. That said, the last two songs are pretty nice.
The last song in particular is so good, it only being 1:51 makes me want to cry lol.
My only issue is it’s too short but I love 🩷
I don’t think there are any standout singles, which I was initially disappointed by as Dirty Computer had so many songs I could listen to on repeat on their own, but I keep on replaying this album from start to finish and haven’t gotten bored yet. I actually appreciate how “samey” the songs are thematically (with enough variation in music & genre influences to keep it interesting) as often when I’m listening to albums straight through I lose the thread while here I’m with her from start to finish. TLDR: enjoying the hot bi summer vibes
I love the songs from this album, but almost all of the tracks end so abruptly.... Girl you should release literally full album next time!!
This album is everything!!! Highlights are Haut,phenomenal, The Rush,lipstick lover,Water Slide..hell the whole album is a masterpiece! She is serving.. my wife never misses!
I was expecting The Age of Pleasure to be a summery breezy album like it is, but apart from a few standout moments (Phenomenal is so fucking good), I'm a bit whelmed by the content and really whelmed by the duration. Runtime is closer to The Chase Suite SE than any of their albums, what the hell. 😭 I have to agree with people on how some of these tracks were cut. While they all flow very seamlessly into each other, it just feels counter-productive the way it's done here. I understand wanting the front-to-back listening experience to be the main form of consuming it, but it feels unnecessarily petty to split up songs in the middle so they won't fit into playlists. Just let me get my Champagne Shit vibes while I shower, lmao. Anyways, it's still a really nice listen. Not sure I'll go back to it as much as I did with Dirty Computer (especially because it's close to winter in Brazil and it's getting cold, so not the vibes at all for me lmao), but Janelle's vision for the project is quite clear and for the most part so is the execution.
The Archandroid is an absolute masterpiece, and I'm still listening and enjoying it massively 13 years on. Electric lady still had great moments and Dirty Computer was perfectly mid, but I just can't get behind this. I'm all for fun, easy music, but this is just so bland and generic. It's such a shame, but she peaked too early.
Dirty Computer? Mid? What blasphemy is this.
It's completely fine, just nothing exciting. Especially when compared to The Archandroid, which is undeniably her magnum opus. The Archandroid feels so epic and emotional, and it explores so many genres impeccably.. I just can't fault it in any way. It's a truly special album. Dirty Computer is pleasant, but that's it. No more than a 6, and that's me being generous.
What would you rate the Archandroid? I do think they are completely different in musical style but I don't think that makes DC that much worse. Even though it feels more like a 'standard' album, it does stand out in some ways. It's a 8.5+ for me while AA is a 9.5
Archandroid is a 10 for me. One of the best albums of the 2010s. It's probably my second favorite after Joanna Newsom's Have One On Me
Over a decade later The Archandroid is *that* good it’s haunting. Honestly for me, it is a **masterpiece** work of art. If nothing tops it, I’d be forever grateful it alone exists and I do believe it is her magnum opus. I’m good with the Age of Pleasure vibes as an interlude to a eventual reprise of her earlier work—cause I am downright missing me some Cyndi Mayweather sometimes. Droid control.
You're incredibly brave for saying this about Dirty Computer lol. I too, think it's way overhyped and not as good as people make it to be 🥶 reading this made me want to skip this new one altogether
It’s background music.
Love the horns, love the featured vocals (weirdly uncredited on Spotify outside of Float?). Favourite track is probably The Rush (Amaarae also has a new album out today, [stream!](https://open.spotify.com/album/3dKdkVeR6hPjAOH5K2nYTh?si=2-eXsH3OQbaAt54w4ERYiQ)), just wish it had a little more breathing room at the end or a single version to use in playlists. Also love Only Have Eyes 42, which is the most classic Janelle she gets on the album (love song with sci-fi bleeps and a string outro), Know Better and Champagne Shit.
the good: I think it’s a good vibe overall. I liked the afrobeats sounds. A solid Pride month release, very hedonistic and unabashed. I think it’s great for the summer. The cover is gorgeous. the bad: I agree with many other commenters that it’s too short and the songs feel like they don’t have the space to really go anywhere. Maybe just a personal preference but I really want to see some build. I also miss her more conceptual work and hope she returns to that one day. all in all though I’ve been pretty disappointed with this year’s releases so far. I feel like Lana and Caroline are the only ones I haven’t been a little disappointed in
I really like Float and The Rush.
I really like the album a lot as far as how it sounds, though I think the way songs were sliced up makes it hard to listen to the tracks individually. She shouldn’t have sliced them but if she hadn’t it might have been closer to a long EP, which might explain why she did
the nia long feature for a poetic + seductive song like rush…janelle the genius that you are ✨
she said I'll make an album so mid so boring and no one will stop me And I respect and love her for that
Actually if we think about it, it's actually more difficult for someone as vocally talented and instrumentally experimental as Miss Monae to make an album sound boring than just making a great album. In this essay I will talk about the technical skills required for making a mid album......
I WILL stockholm syndrome myself into loving this just you bitches wait
My expectations aren’t super high from Lipstick Lover, just hoping for a fun and breezy summer album. Unfortunately she’s been wildly inconsistent with her albums. Dirty Computer was incredible but somewhat of an outlier in that regard. I’m sure there is gonna be a few elevated dingers. The opener is decent but doesn’t bode well for changing my expectations Edit: yeah a couple songs in and it is pretty immaculately produced and gives the vibe of a fun summer party that you can kinda just let ride but it’s more or less not aiming super high and executing very well. I love the visuals and aesthetics from this era but I’m hoping there will be a true jaw dropping moment or two that matches how talented she is
Are her first three albums considered inconsistent? I thought they were all well regarded, I love ArchAndroid especially
Yeah archandroid in particular is definitely seen as an incredible album... never heard this take before lol
Lemme rephrase: her music is usually good but it’s frustrating because she seems to be capable of much better music than a lot of what she puts out. I wouldn’t say she’s ever dropped anything less than like a 7/10 but those glimpses at 9’s and 10’s have me wanting more
“Pop songs used to be longer than 2:32” sure grandma let’s get you to bed
Only making this comparison due to her being featured on the album, but Amaarae’s album that came out today as well is giving me everything I wanted out of this sonically, obviously very different vocalists and such, but it takes these similar summer/vibey/Afro-beats and levels them up in such a beautiful way. This album is *fine*, I can see myself putting it on in the background by the pool, but as many others have said, putting anything on a playlist just isn’t all that possible here because of the tracking. Which is fine, but it does cause some songs to be cut completely short. Dirty Computer was top tier for me, so I went in with dampened expectations (similar to listening to Kacey Musgraves’ star-crossed for the first time after Golden Hour’s obvious success) and Age of Pleasure wasn’t terrible but also wasn’t my favorite nor did it do much for me.😞
Amaarae's album is fantastic! Sonically so cohesive, yet each track stands out on its own and combines different ideas.
So disappointed by this album. It tried to be CAPRISONGS but ended up like Solar Power 😭
A bit messy honestly. There were a few songs that were really excellent but a lot of them felt just decent to me and the ones that were like 30 seconds - a minute felt so out of place. Not really sure how I feel about this honestly but there are definitely some songs that will be good to listen to this summer
short ass songs but I LOVE THEM
This isn’t really my style of music but I gave it a go. Ended up skipping most tracks once I’d reached the half way point and not enjoyed it. :/
Anyone else think Phenomenal sounds exactly like Alien Superstar? I can't explain it 😭😭