The Album

K.T.S.E. yielded a gold-certified, Top 20 R&B/hip-hop hit in the form of Gonna Love Me. Despite those significant firsts for Teyana Taylor, the singer and songwriter had misgivings about the 2018 LP, the last in a sequence of five like-sized G.O.O.D. Music titles inevitably branded as an installment in the Kanye West-guided Wyoming sessions. Taylor hits the reset button with The Album. Its title effectively brushes aside both K.T.S.E. and her fine 2014 debut, VII. Almost 80 minutes in duration, this set even dwarfs the aggregate of the two preceding releases as if to leave no doubt that its her definitive and unrestricted work. Taylor furthers the notion by starting The Album with recordings of husband Iman Shumperts marriage proposal and his 911 call in response to the unexpected natural birth of their daughter Junie. Soon enough, Junie -- a few years older -- introduces the misty Come Back to Me, and then the tranquil Wake Up Love floats past with Taylors husband the provider of a devotional guest verse. After she revamps Erykah Badus elusive-temptation tale Next Lifetime with a featured appearance from the originator, Taylor closes out the romantic segment with the Guy-interpolating bliss-out Lets Build, duetting with Quavo in sincere and mellifluous style. Next is a grip of bedroom slow jams. None eclipse Request off VII, but the Kehlani collaboration Morning is a seductive delight, while the snaking (and accurately titled) Boomin is a treat for lovers of late-90s R&B with explicit references to Blaque and much of the Swing Mob (plus an appearance from the latters Missy Elliott). Confident diversions into breezy Afro-pop and underwater dancehall lead to a half-hour stretch covering various romantic woes. Taylor confronts, pleads, departs, regrets, and more, delivering a couple of her most riveting performances on Concrete, all toxicity and torment, and Still, a strong contender for the surrogate Jazmine Sullivan ballad of 2020. The Album is rounded out by an up-tempo trifecta that with each verse and chorus, all the way through Lauryn Hills closing words of wisdom, increases in power. ~ Andy Kellman

2020年のベストR&B作品のひとつがフィジカル化。グレイス・ジョーンズにリスペクトを捧げるアートワークからも伝わる誇り高い美意識で全編を覆いつつ、サウンド面では自身が夢中になっていたであろう90 ～00年代R&Bをオマージュしており、そして何よりシンガーとしての高い素養を披露し尽くした充実作となっている。今様なクールネスも漂うものの、カニエ作のアッパーな"Made It"や夫イマンと共演した"Wake Up Love"などの温かくソウルフルな路線、またアリシア・キーズを引用したDJキャンパー作の"Come Back To Me"や、エリカ・バドゥ"Next Lifetime"を本人を招いて再構築した"Lowkey"など、音楽的ルーツを曝け出すような場面でのエモーショナルな歌唱が抜群だ。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子