This sequel to the fabulous and futuristic album dirty computer, which already dates from more than five years ago, is strewn with refrains that one cannot forget. These same refrains exude summer, the joy of living and… sex. Janelle Monáe is completely uninhibited here, hammering from one song to another that she loves herself and that she wants to spread this love.
From the outset, with the coin float, one of the two singles unveiled before the release of the album, Monáe asserts herself. She sings of having changed, no longer letting herself be walked on, being at peace. “I don’t walk, I don’t dance, I float”, she launches on this piece, one of the best on the disc.
Throughout the disc, the multidisciplinary artist sings his own glory, on highly satisfying emancipatory anthems. Monáe celebrates her queer identity, her difference, her independence.
In an interview for Apple Music, Janelle Monáe revealed that she played her album to her friends at parties, with one rule in mind: if the song doesn’t work for a party, then it does not end up on the album. Result: this disc makes you move. From start to finish, it makes you want to dance. We go from rap, to R&B, to afrobeat, to reggae, then to a few moments of soul as Monáe knows how to concoct them. The Age of Pleasure pays a vast homage to music of African origin, while infusing a dose of modernity.
The Age of Pleasure is designed in an evolutionary way, letting the styles follow one another to advance the party on different rhythms over the 32 minutes of listening. In everything she offers on this record, the one who is also a superb actress demonstrates that she has boundless artistic intelligence. We can’t wait to see these songs live on stage. His visit to Montreal next September promises to be electrifying.
R&B/afrobeat/soul
The Age of Pleasure
Janelle Monae
Wondaland and Bad Boy Records