Part one of Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah trilogy, released in 2008, was a brain-bending blast of intergalactic psych-soul with a sharp political edge. Part two largely ditches avant-garde curveballs and instead mines a rich seam of mellow, rare groove moods, with some juicy live instrumentation.
The prevailing theme is the complexity of love and relationships, with Badu’s lyrics delivered in her blurry, woozy, almost incantatory tones.
But the loose, laid-back funk of tracks such as Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long, the uplifting vibe of the likes of Umm Hmm and the succulent bass of Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY) – at once a reworking of Sylvia Striplin’s classic song and a cheeky rethink of the Junior MAFIA track that sampled it – are so joyous it’s soon hard to concentrate on anything much except grooving.
No comments:
Post a Comment