Whatever, we’ll forgive him that, because he (and the Vanguard) brought us Black Messiah. Smoothness has always been a forte of D’Angelo’s, and it’s fitting for a guy with such a smooth, silky voice, although it’s still hard to tell what he’s saying sometimes. Even with its good moments, Black Messiah – and it’s about time somebody used that title – still plays like a smooth, seamless whole. This time around, though, D’Angelo ups his game with some biting social commentary in “1000 Deaths” and “The Charade” (“all we wanted was to talk/instead we got outlined in chalk”), and a great use of live instrumentation, including horns, vintage keys, and guitar (which he just learned how to play). ![]() There’s just as much sexy balladeering as you’d expect, with standout cuts like the jitter-funk opener “Ain’t That Easy,” the sweepingly romantic “Really Love,” the ear-pleasing “Prayer,” and “Sugah Daddy,” which has such a great groove that it feels too short. ![]() Still, it was a great year for R&B and neo soul, even if only because D’Angelo put out an album.Ī long overdue album at that – Black Messiah is D’Angelo’s first album in 14 years, and thankfully, it’s more than worth the wait. I did get to see Danny Brown live, which was awesome, but I couldn’t find a great rap album. Cole, Run the Jewels 2 something of a letdown, whatever. No new Kanye release, nothing much from Kendrick, so-so (and overrated) albums by Schoolboy Q and J. Let’s face it: 2014 wasn’t a great year for rap. You can count on Spoon.ĭ’Angelo and the Vanguard – Black Messiah Spoon’s (often-underrated) inventiveness has saved them time and time again from being a “generic indie band,” although, with Britt Daniel’s distinctive husky voice and odd lyrical gift, they were never in real danger of slipping into one. They Want My Soul might not be my favorite Spoon album, but it does display some of their strongest songwriting and arranging, from the chill-wavy synths and harp glissandos in “Inside Out” to the unstable variety of “Knock Knock Knock” to the mad piano on “I Just Don’t Understand.” “Do You” proves that Spoon can still write a great pop song if they want to, and “Outlier” seems to do everything that Reflektor failed to do. Sure, Transference was kind of slight, but you can still count on Spoon to make a flat-out good record, even a great record, like they did this year. I’ve been a Spoon fan for most of my life, since they released Gimme Fiction, and they haven’t let me down yet. A great experience all around and one of my favorite indie rock records in recent memory. This is a record that should be heard more than once, and it doesn’t hurt that most of the songs are pretty catchy. At first I thought the line “I prefer your love to Jesus” was clunky, but now all I hear is the lushness in her voice when she sings it, so it must be true. ![]() Of all the records that came out this year, this one had the most replay value for me. The album’s also got her best ever closing track, “Severed Crossed Fingers,” featuring one of her most emotional vocals and a brilliant harpsichord arrangement to go with it. ![]() Her guitar playing remains as confident and creative as ever, and although I miss the bass on the record, it’s not a huge loss. It’s full of welcome surprises and nifty touches, like that awesome crunchy riff on “Huey Newton,” the jerky video-gamey bass on “Rattlesnake,” the wonderfully textured chorus in “Regret,” the synths on “I Prefer Your Love” that remind me of Madonna (in a good way), etc. It’s well written as always, with extra helpings of humor and feeling in the lyrics. As much as I love her music, her prior albums all seem to peter out before the end, but not this one. Vincent’s most accessible album and her first without any obvious weak patches.
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