Janelle Monáe — The Age of Pleasure — Album Review
RnB | Pop | Funk
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
I first discovered Janelle Monáe as part of my first ever Last Minute Reviews Week, all the way back in 2018. In preparation for that very list, the singer-songwriter’s third studio album, titled Dirty Computer, was one of the albums I discovered before the musical year of 2018 came to a close.
Through this album, I discovered that Janelle’s musical style was a cut different fro your typical R’n’B artist. By blending in elements of hip-hop and funk, it created a beautifully unique blend which allowed Dirty Computer to shine as an album with all of the praise from listeners that it deserved.
And even though Janelle Monáe’s fourth studio album would arrive to us five whole years later, the prospect of a new album from this artist was exciting, even for someone such as myself, who had discovered her previous album on quite some whim.
This brand new album has been given the title of The Age of Pleasure, and judging from that titled (and the album’s cover art), it felt pretty clear as to what the end goal of this album was.
To be this year’s summer album has been a feat that many other recent albums have strived for, to varying effects. However, my hopes were still quite high going into this new album from Janelle Monáe, despite having not listened to the fast succession of teaser tracks that came before.
An honestly, going into this album, it felt like it could potentially be the summer vibe album of the year! With the genre-blending that made an album like Dirty Computer so memorable, that same formula is implemented into a more pop-oriented framework.
This results in an album that it intoxicatingly exotic, providing the perfect musical playground for Janelle Monáe to focus on feeling herself, a sentiment that feels apparent throughout the entirety of the project.
The Age of Pleasure is entirely…well..pleasure. Through its lyrics and feel-good musicality, the artist pushes as much healthy indulgence as possible into the record, with a level of confidence that would even put an artist like Beyoncé to shame.
And as a listener, I was indulging all the way as well. As one who is especially looking forward to the rest of this summer in particular, this album provides the perfect soundtrack.
My favourite little moments on the album seem to be the little jazzy elements, that really give the album an almost holiday-esque vibe. That being said, it proved to be a slight gripe of mine to see a fair handful of these as their own cuts on the album, as I feel like this album was one of those rare cases, where I would’ve appreciated them serving as fade-outs for the neighboring tracks.
With those little interludes included, however, this album flows tremendously from one track to the next. Both relaxing and invigorating, The Age of Pleasure feels like the musical equivalent to a brilliant summer getaway.
Favourite Tracks: Phenomenal | Haute | Paid In Pleasure | A Dry Red
Wondaland Productions | Bad Boy Records
