Album Review: Solange - True

Solange
True
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Living under the shadow of her superstar sister Beyonce, Solange Knowles has often struggled to make her presence known. On her 2008 release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange gathered a host of hot producers such as Cee-Lo Green, Mark Ronson, and The Neptunes to craft an album of eclectic R&B, soul, psychedelica, funk, and pop which seemed to forget that the focus should be on developing a distinct sound for the singer. While the album was a success, Solange appeared penned in by the constraints of working with a major label, and parted ways with Interscope in order to go on a more independent route for the follow up. While we eagerly await the release of the proper follow up to Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange releases this, I guess you would call buffed up EP, True. Working with new collaborator Dev Hynes (Test Icicles, Lightspeed Champion, and Blood Orange), Solange is finding her own voice and sound and creating one of her most consistent and creative releases yet.
Steering clear of the all-over-the-map pop album approach, Solange and Hynes stick to a an 80s pop and R&B mood throughout, making for a much smoother, coherent listen.

The party vibe of "Losing You" blends funky rhythms, smooth synthesizers, and a light atmosphere that belies the sadness of the lyrics.



Which is an interesting contrast throughout the record, this juxtaposition of light and dark, which elevates the record to something more than just a genre exercise. While there is always a slightly sunny feel to the songs, either the lyrics, or some subtle musical motif is lurking in the background to add points of interest. "Lovers In Parking Lot" has a brisk, piano led melody, but lyrically is a darker meditation on the trials of live.



The best track on True is "Locked In Closets," a slinky, dark synth driven moody number, with Solange's voice snaking all around the sonic swirl.



The seemingly slight "Look Good With Trouble," with it's swooning synth strings and breathy vocals transitions seamlessly into "Bad Girls" which adds meaty drum programming and more muscular synth and bass lines.



The only real misstep on the record is the bouncy, early Madonna-esque "Some Things Never Seem to Fucking Work" which loses its beachy vibe with a ponderous spoken word bridge and overstaying its welcome with a fairly monotonous trajectory.



But overall these 7 tracks show a much more in control Solange and definitely heighten the anticipation for her upcoming full album. Sometimes it takes getting away from all the major label handlers and nay and yeasayers for an artist to finally be allowed to be true to themselves. Thankfully for us, Solange did just that.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.