thread of miguel

this is more of an OK R&B rock album than I expected -- a chewy Maroon 5 album I always wanted from them.

jesus i guess that’s something you could say about this record

I'm going to assume that if I listened to this album 20+ times it would reveal itself to me in ways I'm not hearing my first time through, but I'm so goddamned bored with it I don't have another 19 listens in me.

...........

a chewy Maroon 5 album I always wanted from them.

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, November 30, 2017 9:35 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

jesus

backslide
backslide

^^^ that's the hook I've been unable to dislodge

https://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/miguel-sky-walker/3628568

This album is wonderful. It's so bright and fizzy but every time a gutteral bass line cuts through one of those songs it's like he's plugged directly into my neural reward system

I strongly disagree with Miguel's recent costume changes; however, he can use the parachute so long as he lands in my room.

"got a mind like columbine" less than 30 seconds in is up there with his most cringeworthy moves

album is pretty good though

ok so this is pretty solid so far. "banana clip" sounds like an AIWIY/KD throwback a little. dig it

album owns

Miguel as wannabe baby boomer pt 684 - you realise when you listen to this how rarely you hear the word "woman" in male-fronted R&B, or indeed most pop music these days. Certainly not in that sort of full-throated lascivious/longing way Miguel sings it, but that's everywhere in 70s rock and soul.

As a singer, Miguel seems to be on a similar trajectory to Beyonce post-4, that willingness to explore the full possibilities of vocal *performance* - the breadth and range of what he does with his voice is so much broader than it was on AIWIU or Kaleidoscope Dream - the way he can move from the swoop to the snarl in one phrase.

Also the bassline on Caramelo Duro rules.

He loves singing, and that joy translates. He loves to sing and it doesn't make him self-absorbed like, say, Alicia Keys.

his songs are very loose

this is more of an OK R&B rock album than I expected

^^^^^this.

I really like this, a lot more than the last one, and I thought it was a lot more instant too. It's not quite Kaleidescope Dream but few things are.

from all evidence miguel live is still full band workouts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doeWN1nK1RQ

https://t.co/vovUAwRYXB

nice!

I'm a bit nonplussed by this one which saddens me a bit. "Now" is my favorite thing on here

sky walker is both lame and gorgeous

Feeling that about City of Angels rn.

Pretty disappointing album. All just feels a bit safe and samey.

yeah this sounded like a dud to me

i thought this was ok, but not at the level of most of his other stuff. but i should relisten

i haven't given it a second listen yet lol

I threw a list together.

yeah on second listen i’m not really into this at all :(

alfred you are missing “teach me”!

wtf y’all

i dunno i'm no miguel scholar but seems as good as the last one to me

first two >> last two

don't @ me

ok k3v we get it you like all i want is you

Pineapple Skies is beautiful but I can't disassociate it from Whenever You're Near Me by Ace of Base.

first two >> last two

This can't even be in dispute, right? His latest albums are nice but those first two were visionary. Even Wildheart was a fairly considerable step down from Kaleidoscope Dream

i have listened to both recently and i think that position is bullshit though i get why people feel that way, i guess???

first three tracks on wildheart are a little weak but then the rest of the album is perfect

I like the debut but even after hearing "Sure Thing" on the radio and loving it and digging into the album I thought it tentative, almost furtive.

every song on the debut is good but whenever i listen to it it always feels like it’s being pulled in a few different directions at once e.g. “pay me”

yeah the debut is pretty scatttered. It's ideas rich but all over the place. Most of the time that approach works wonders (it's got several of his best singles on it), but Kaleidoscope Dream is a much more focused/accomplished statement

Kinda easy to forget what a miracle AIWIY was at the time, though. 2010 was the era of peak A&R interference, so for Jive to give a newcomer like Miguel a pass and let him release an album w/o marquee guests and a clear slam-dunk single was kind of remarkable. My initial impression of it was the label was basically ready to write it off (cheap packaging, barely any promotion, a shitty Nov. 30 release date, etc.)

No matter how good the rest of it is, those first three tracks definitely put Wildheart below Kaleidoscope Dream, especially as both KD and AIWIY start off with such perfect statements of intent. The debut doesn't even feel of a piece with the rest of them any more but there's a marked improvement in his voice between the first and second albums.

I like War & Leisure but I'm not convinced it's up there with the others - it's at least an intriguing development though, retaining the guitars and the live feel but moving away from the overt rock references. I actually want him to go further down the Latino R&B route he seems to be edging towards in parts of this, and it would make total sense for him to do that. If anything the new one doesn't quite differentiate itself enough from its predecessors.

i like the first three wildheart tracks :\

as others have said he is stretching out his voice in lots of interesting ways on W&L and the lyrics on e.g. City of Angels are appealingly goofy but I just find myself playing a couple of (obvious I guess) songs: Pineapple Skies, Told You So, Caramelo Duro

considering i didn't like wildheart much and am not shaping up to be feeling most of this one either, perhaps it's time i finally listened to all i want is you. "sure thing" is still my favorite miguel single most of the time so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i like this when i listen to it but haven't felt super compelled to return. it has some of the fizzy effervescence of kaleidescope dream but not just the same magic. it's a good record tho & maybe it will sound better once it gets warmer.

also there are some good lyrics in here interspersed among all the gun as dick/sex as war metaphors

I wish he would sing about hugs more often :(