Janelle Monae
the ArchAndroid (Suite II & III)

THE REVIEW

The girl with the turbaned helmet reminds me of the big robot from “Automatic Lover” (Dee D. Jackson 1978), and I'm scared! Furthermore, it's a concept, with a before ("Metropolis Suite I The Chase", EP from 2008) and probably an after ("Suite IV" etc...), and I've got prequels and sequels to fear!

The narrative plot stripped down, streamlined, and summarized: Android 57821 aka Cindy Mayweather, that is, Janelle, has the task of liberating Metropolis from the Great Divide, a dark force dedicated to suppressing freedom and love, against a backdrop borrowed directly from Fritz Lang's Metropolis. If the saga's protagonists travel through time and space at will, the musical-concept-operetta borrows the following influences, as astute critics have observed: James Brown, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Grace Jones, Parliament/Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gay, Dusty Springfield, Outkast, Michael Jackson, Les Baxter, Sade, N.E.R.D., echoes of Santana Smiths Talking Heads. I think it would be difficult to contradict anyone who claimed to find traces of Melissa from the Allmann Bros rather than the delicacy of Vasthy Bunyan... It's the multifaceted nature, the sonic melting-pot that dictates the line of the operation, unfolding seamlessly and presenting at least 8 potential hit-singles (or more, you decide) across 18 tracks (some bridging with the orchestra borrowed from “the Wizard of Oz”). “Faster” and “Locked Inside” are good for a few snapshots, “57821” in loop from Christmas Eve to kisses under the mistletoe, with the energetic duo “Cold War” and “Tightrope” at New Year. Occasionally the theme of "Goldfinger" and "The Crying Game/The Soldier's Wife" recurs (see “Sir Greenwood”), with “Wondaland” anyone can dance as long as they can stand, the lounge on the sidelines “Neon Valley Street” with the two extended final tracks “Say’ll You Go” and “BaBopBye Ya” wraps fascinatingly: like with pigs, nothing gets thrown away here.

I say that between “Jesus Christ Superstar” by Rice-Webber (1973) and “Hair” by Rado-Ragni-MacDermot (1979), “The ArchAndroid” fits wonderfully, referencing two of the most famous musicals of the '70s with Monae and company having skillfully combined hip-hop metrics with vintage soloists and messianic chorality typical of an era convinced that change was possible. As perfect as “Original Soundtrack” by 10cc (1975), “The ArchAndroid” boasts producers and patrons of the highest stature in the hip-neosoul-r&b consortium, which, being unknown to me, I avoid naming pedantically; I note the negligible contribution in “Make the Bus” by Of Montreal, a noted gay-dance-prog-band.

As album of the year, it competes with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kayne West, widely acclaimed worldwide and awarded a 10 by Pitchfork, as already noted by Dr. Fottermeier in our beloved little paper. And rock? Apart from the over 50 section with Weller and Cave in plain view, the enchanted and enchanting “Écailles de Lune” by Alcest and the very powerful “The Guessing Game” by Cathedral, I think it's on an unknown frequency of another radio.