Janelle Monàe
The ArchAndroid
Atlantic, 2010
I resisted buying this for a while. First of all, I didn't like the cover art. Second, Pitchfork liked it which totally puts me off to a record now. However, I finally broke down and I must admit, it was worth it. It's funky, it's sexy and it is literally all over the place as far as genres go. From the James Brown-ish "Tight Rope" to "Neon Valley Street" which could have easily have found it's way onto an Erykah Badu record, this record really defies categorization. Out of the 18 tracks I would say that there are about nine totally solid songs and the rest I could take or leave. But her originality can't be denied. Ms. Janelle is here to stay, and that's totally cool with me.