Devil's Halo

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:36:48
Audio Mixer: Bob Power. Photographer: Mark Seliger. On three of her last four recordings, Me'Shell Ndegeocello has showcased her aesthetic restlessness, expanding her musical horizons to jazz, hip-hop, and the far-flung reaches of rock as well as funk and soul. On DEVIL'S HALO, she focuses her vision deliberately on a dozen soulish, near-pop, rock tunes. Recorded by S. Husky Hoskulds, it's stark compared to her last three albums. Ndegeocello plays bass and sings backed by guitarist Chris Bruce, drummer Deantoni Parks, and keyboardist Keith Ciancia, with guest appearances by Oren Bloedow and Lisa Germano. Desire haunts all the songs on DEVIL'S HALO, beginning with "Slaughter," its opening track. Ndegeocello sings slowly, softly, deliberately, without a hint of irony: "She said she loved me/I ran away/ Don't say you love me/I'll run away..." "Mass Transit" is funkier, a bit more aggressive from the outset with Bruce's guitar leading the way, though Ndegeocello's bassline offers an alternate read on both melody and rhythmic pulse. "White Girl" may be the straightest pop song Ndegeocello's ever written, but its bassline is strictly dubwise. The vocals are smoky and elliptical, they create their own chorus in reverb and in the singer's deliberately stretched-out phrase, all around a very simple, hooky melody. The title track is a nearly ambient instrumental, with Ndegeocello playing harmonics on her bass in the mix just underneath a snare and kick drum barely outlining the time signature. Ndegeocello can always quite literally articulate her musical vision, but she hasn't been so nakedly vulnerable and brazenly honest on record as she is here. She remains musically mercurial and virtually unclassifiable, even if she is at her most accessible on DEVIL'S HALO