Janelle Monáe has been one of the most exciting and boundary-pushing multi-faceted artists to emerge in the last 15 years or so. As well as writing and producing her own music, she has always been a great actress with some majorly important roles over the years. Though her music is very popular in its own right, she may be more recognizable to the general public from the movies she has been in; some of her biggest accomplishments in film have been her contributions to critically acclaimed movies like 2016’s Moonlight and Hidden Figures and 2022’s Glass Onion. Janelle Monáe got her music career started when she released her debut project The Audition in 2003. Four years later, she released another EP called Metropolis: Suite 1 (The Chase). Both of these projects were lauded and garnered her much attention within the music industry. She released her debut studio album, The ArchAndroid, in 2010. This was a concept record that was considered to be a sequel to her 2007 EP; it was praised by fans and critics acclaimed and firmly cemented Janelle Monáe as one of the most exciting rising stars in music. Janelle Monáe built on this momentum with her 2013 record (and next installment in her Metropolis series)The Electric Lady; this album received universal acclaim, as listeners loved its tight and riveting concept and its wide range of musical influences. Following this release, Janelle Monáe took a five-year break from her music and did not return until 2018 when she dropped her album Dirty Computer. This album was said to be her best project to date by many(which is saying a lot), and a lot of music fans, critics, and publications consider it to be the best(or one of the best) albums of 2018. After taking another five-year hiatus, Janelle Monáe has finally returned in 2023 with her highly anticipated new record The Age of Pleasure. This is supposed to be a sleek and sexy album that starts the summer off in a fun manner Here is how I feel about that record. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from The Age of Pleasure and also comment on how you feel about the album as a whole.
Janelle Monáe gets this record started with ‘Float,’ which features Nigerian band Seun Kuti and Egypt 80. This is a very grand way to kick this project off. This is also a song that sticks out among the music that Janelle Monáe usually makes. ‘Float’ has a current Trap feeling to it, which is not a sound that we have gotten much from her in the past. The song is driven by a melody driven by horns and synths that have a triumphant feeling; there is even a saxophone that kicks in and out which gives the song an enjoyable Jazzy element. This is the kind of melody that makes me feel positive and powerful. Janelle Monáe raps the verses and sings the chorus on this track with power and emphasis; her vocal delivery pairs up nicely with the majestic sound of the instrumental. On ‘Float,’ Janelle Monáe is singing about getting over her insecurities and learning to love herself. Janelle Monáe keeps the modern Trap feeling that the last track had going on the song ‘Champagne Shit.’ This song’s melody, which is also driven by a Horn section and some hazy synth sounds, has a Reggae tone. This is the kind of melody that will transport any listener’s mindset south of the border; when I hear ‘Champagne Shit,’ I immediately think about drinking a frozen drink on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. For most of this song, Janelle sing-raps the lyrics in a laid-back way; near the track’s end, she starts to flex her vocals a bit and show her range. I enjoy the way the vocals are layered at the end of ‘Champagne Shit,’ as they make the song feel so warm. On ‘Champagne Shit,’ Janelle Monáe is singing about partying the night away. The next track, ‘Black Sugar Beach,’ is a continuation of the song ‘Champagne Shit.’ ‘Black Sugar Beach’ is basically a sped-up House music version of ‘Champagne Shit.’ The thing that stands out about this track to me is the guitar riff that kicks in. This funky riff gives the song an exciting feeling that makes me want to dance the night away. On ‘Black Sugar Beach,’ Janelle Monáe just repeats the chorus from ‘Champagne Shit.’ ‘Phenomenal,’ which features Doechii, has a lot darker sound than the songs that precede it. This track has a bit more of a negative feeling than the first three tracks on the record. This song has a futuristic Jazzy-House feeling that is sort of like a crossover between most of the music from Beyoncé’s Rennaissance album from last year and Kaytraminé’s self-titled record from last month. If you like either of those records, this is a song I know you will enjoy. The melody sounds like it is being provided by a large band; there are so many instruments contributing to it that make it sound so full. The melody is so dark and dim and makes me want to dance the night away in some sci-fi club. Janelle Monáe and Doechii’s vocals mesh so well on this track. Doechii’s has a lower and more sultry delivery that contrasts Janelle’s higher and lighter vocals delightfully. On ‘Phenomenal,’ Janelle Monáe and Doechii are singing about how they know they are great and do not care what anyone else thinks.
‘Haute’ is a quick and funky track with a comparable melody and feeling to ‘Phenomenal.’ Though this melody is driven by horns instead of guitars and keyboards, it still has a similar sort of dark and dim tone to the previous track. The Trap beat on this song is gritty and tough, bringing a harshness into the album that we have not seen up until this point. ‘Haute’ contains my favorite vocal performance from Janelle Monáe on this album so far; in this track, she sing-raps with a level of attitude and power that is so gripping and powerful. On ‘Haute,’ Janelle Monáe is singing about how she knows that she is sexy and desirable. ‘Oooh La La,’ which features Grace Jones, sounds like a quick outro to ‘Haute.’ It carries the same melody as ‘Haute,’ and the only real difference is the fact that the beat switches from Trap to Reggae. On ‘Oooh La La,’ Grace Jones is inviting Janelle and her friend somewhere because she thinks they are beautiful. ‘Lipstick Lover’ totally pivots from the sound of the last few tracks and goes back to the Reggae theme we got at the beginning of the album. This sweet and summery track is another one that makes me want to party on a beach while the sun is setting. This track has such a luscious and warm melody that is provided by synths and complemented by sound effects that make the song sound like it was recorded near an ocean. The light and lowkey beat on this track is so relaxing and even-keeled. Janelle Monáe’s vocal performance on this is excellent. Janelle Monáe shows off her wide vocal range on this track, and the way these vocals are arranged and layered makes the song sound so full. On ‘Lipstick Lover,’ Janelle is singing about making love with her new significant other. ‘The Rush,’ which features Nia Long and Amaarae, is a Neo-R&B track with a sweet and comfy sound that is so pleasant to listen to. This instrumental is super easy-going and breezy. The melody is provided by a funky bassline and guitar riff as well as balmy synths that sound like bells, and the beat is mainly provided by faded Hi-Hats and snares that complement the funky bassline well. Like the last track, the thing that stands out the most about this song is the vocals. All three ladies on this track have delicate deliveries that fit the instrumental attractively and add to the welcoming feeling of the instrumental. On ‘The Rush,’ Janelle, Nia, and Amaarae are once again singing about making love with someone new that they adore. ‘The French 75,’ which features Reggae Legend Sister Nancy, is a short and sweet Reggae track with a toasty instrumental that is akin to some of the reggae cuts early in the album. The melody is driven by lush horns and the beat has a slow and restrained sound that goes well with the calm sound of the instrumental. The vocals on this track are mainly dominated by Sister Nancy, whose low, iconic delivery glides over this instrumental so satisfyingly. In ‘The French 75,’ Janelle and Sister Nancy are talking about how they know how great they are and how they want to party the night away.
‘Water Slide’ feels like an extension of the preceding track. Even though the melody and beat are slightly different, this track still sounds so much like ‘The French 75.’ The main differences between this track and that one are how the melody and beat are arranged. Instead of being driven by horns, this melody is mainly driven by a guitar riff with synths and horns surrounding it; all of these sounds that make up the melody make it so full. The beat on this song is a bit slower and more pronounced than the one on ‘The French 75.’ This punchy beat fits the melody so well. The vocal performance on this track is awesome as well. Like she has a few other times on the record, Janelle Monáe flexes how wide her vocal range is on this track, and her vocals are layered in a way that makes them sound so all-inclusive. On ‘Water Slide,’ Janelle is singing about hot, dirty sex with her lover. ‘Know Better,’ featuring CKay, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 has a sound that we have not heard yet on this record. This song fuses Jazz, R&B, and House music in a way that is totally unique and unlike anything most other artists are making. It sort of reminds me of the music from Kaytraminé, but the song has a Reggae element to it that makes it stand out from their music. This song has a Dark tone that feels a bit more negative than the rest of the music on the record. Something about this horn-driven and bass-guitar-driven melody gives the song a way less welcoming feeling than any of the other songs before it. The vocal performances on this track are nice but do not stand out. Honestly, this works well for the track, as the vocals are not pronounced enough to take away from the feeling of the instrumental; instead, they add to the weird ambiance that the instrumental has. On ‘Know Better,’ Janelle and Ckay are singing about hanging out with a new significant other that they do not know a lot about. ‘Paid In Pleasure’ brings it back to the warm, beachy feeling that we have gotten so often on this record. There is something about this track that makes it feel a bit dark, though; this track is almost like a fusion of the dark element that ‘Know Better’ has and the light and cozy feeling that songs like ‘Water Slide’ have. The beat of this track has a heavy sound that feels like a crossover of modern R&B and Reggae. Janelle Monáe’s vocal performance on this song is smooth and relaxed. She rides the instrumental in an easygoing way and does not overpower it at all. On ‘Paid In Pleasure,’ Janelle Monaè is singing about how time is currency and how she wants her significant other to spend all that currency on her. Janelle Monáe leans heavily back into Reggae on the next track, which is called ‘Only Have Eyes 42.’ Instead of having a more classic Reggae sound like most of the other songs in this genre on the record have had, though, this one sounds more like the Neo-Reggae music from the 1990s and mid-2000s. Particularly, This song makes me think of bands like Sublime, 311, or Ace of Base. The song is driven by warm, sweet piano and guitar riffs that bounce off of each other and the song has various weird sound effects that make it sound otherworldly. Janelle Monáe has one of her best vocal performances of the album on this track. I love how her vocals are layered on this track, and it is cool how she shows off the power in her voice at some points and shows how delicate her vocals can be at other points. On ‘Only Have Eyes 42,’ Janelle is singing about how much she adores her significant other and wants to make love all night long. Janelle Monáe ends the record on a fun and interesting note with the song ‘A Dry Red.’ This song has a sound we have not heard yet on the album. It is not totally out of left field and does relate to the overall vibe of the rest of the record, but it is still definitely very distinguishable. This is a light and muted track driven by an Afrobeat style of beat and a faded guitar riff. Apart from some sweet synths in the background, the restrained beat and the quiet guitar riff pretty much make up the whole instrumental. Janelle Monáe’s vocals on this track are as dainty as the instrumental is. The way her vocals are layered at times do give the song a bit of an all-encompassing feeling at those points, but overall her vocals match the nonchalant nature of the instrumental. In ‘A Dry Red,’ Janelle Monáe is singing about partying the night away and making love to her significant other. After how full and large a lot of the rest of the music on this record is, this is a nice and casual way to end it.
A lot of the discourse around The Age of Pleasure online has been about how although there is a lot of quality on the record, it is still not exactly what people wanted or expected. After how genre-bending, conceptual, and overall great all of Janelle Monáe’s music projects have been up until this point, The Age of Pleasure feels a bit underwhelming to a lot of people. Although I do understand this sentiment, I do not necessarily think it is fair to Janelle Monáe. It is okay for her to want to make a more easy-going and fun record about making love and partying instead of making something extremely deep and complex all of the time. She also does not always need to push boundaries and be extremely cutting-edge all of the time. The Age of Pleasure is a fun collection of tracks that are perfect for the summer and make me want to party. The Age of Pleasure is not the kind of bold statement that Janelle Monáe has made on her other projects, but it is a very good collection of songs that make the listener feel good, and that is more than enough for the moment.
EAST SIDE VIBES 