I really do appreciate when an artist is able to reinvent themselves, I really do. I also appreciate when artists realize their own strengths musically and stick to their strengths, while making a few risks here or there.
Christina Aguilera's latest album "Bionic" was an album I was looking forward to. Having loved loved her jazz-influenced "Back to Basics", released 4 years ago, I was hoping for a fresh new album. I enjoyed the first single off of her latest album, "Not Myself Tonight"- a good club track that was reminiscent of her old 2002 hit "Dirrty". But all in all, this album is a sonic mess. Christina is one of the most assertive vocalists out there in pop music, but the majority of these songs sound influenced by today's radio. Christina is an artists who should be influential towards pop radio. Bring back someone who can sing. I'm sick of Ke$ha. Seriously. And all that autotune. But back to Xtina. Songs like "Woohoo" are just distasteful, and for the majority of the record, she seems like she's forcing this hyper-sexual material on her listeners. It's lost the playful sensuality she had before, more or less. It's no surprise this album has not charted well on Billboard, as well as underselling in expectations and sales.
What could've been an organic piece of work, becomes a tragic mess. (The tracks "Lift Me Up", produced by Linda Perry, as well as "You Lost Me", written with Sia, are the 2 best tracks). But seriously. Stick to a few collaborators and producers next time if you want a cohesive album, Christina. This is a hot mess.
2/4 stars.
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1 comment:
Back to Basics is one of my favorite albums, and I too feel like Bionic isn't really the Xtina we love but it's the need for revenue from her publishers taking over.
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