He’s more about the pop life than his contemporaries, and thankfully doesn’t use a big studio’s shellac to fall in line with whatever else you might find on the JAMZ radio station. It all leans a little like Prince and swerves a little like MJ, but more blown-out and menacing - enough to make Miguel be the next voice, not the retro voice. The guitars are all fed through that “dangerous” R&B distortion, one part of the rubble in the crumbled Wall of Sound he uses. The success owes a good deal to the production, sparse and specific, and always in tune with Miguel’s tenor.
#Kaleidoscope dream full#
Nothing shrouds Miguel and his directives, and worries, and prayers, and cat calls - it’s all there, full of light and love, refracting through a kaleidoscope of rocks glasses, rainy windshields, and blood-shot eyes. That vocal prowess and pop sensibility bring him right to the same winner’s podium as Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, all artists that push the fangs-out approach to R&B. Best may be the magnificent bridge on “Use Me”, where Miguel - after he drops the hi-larious line “forgive me, it’s my very first time” - climbs up a ladder of sweet nothings until he screams for her to “devour me/ defile me.” It’s a moment that would surely raise Simon Cowell’s eyebrows and load a “dawg” into Randy Jackson’s chamber. “I’m gonna do you like drugs tonight” are some, and “tell me that this pussy is mine” are others, all mapped out in precise maxi-pop vocal lines. And know that Miguel, through the majority of his excellent sophomore LP, Kaleidoscope Dream, minces very few words on the subject. So enjoy Kaleidoscope Dream for the rarity that it is: an unerringly consistent, very good pop record.Miguel is down for fucking tonight - know this.
His music is strangely traditional in its ambition and Kaleidoscope Dream is, above all, a collection of great pop songs.īut that it encourages this sort of nitpicking is probably a very good sign. He's a terrific songwriter, but not yet a great lyricist. On a bad day you might wonder if Miguel is capable of the type of narrative depth some of the year's best LPs display. It's tough to find much at fault with Kaleidoscope Dream. On this evidence Miguel is one of the finest pop vocalists of the moment. It's here that he really shines, from the stunning rounds in the title track to moments like in How Many Drinks? where he swoons into falsetto, practically lifting off. While Miguel shows his humble side often on Kaleidoscope Dream, when it comes to his singing there's no holding back. This humour and light-touch makes Miguel above all things likeable, capable of a sense of humility that eludes some of his peers. It's one of the most gorgeous pop songs so far this decade, deceptively simple and alluringly confident.ĭo You… is another warm-hearted highlight, opening with the line "Do you like drugs?" before later switching playfully to, "Do you like hugs?".
His biggest American hit to date, Adorn, opens, popping with electric melodies and charm. Kaleidoscope dream Bridge Oh oh, breathe Oh oh, close your eyes, youre with me Oh oh, reach high Taste the sky Just hold my hand Across the moon well hope to fly Youre safe with me, youre.
#Kaleidoscope dream Patch#
Kaleidoscope Dream continues that improvement, highlighting an artist in a real purple patch of songwriting. Those tracks were rough and sometimes pretty off-the-cuff but despite an occasional sense of incompleteness, they still ranked as an exciting step up from Miguel's 2010 debut, All I Want Is You. The record is his fourth release for the year, tying together the loose ends of a trilogy of EPs titled Art Dealer Chic Volumes 1-3. An experience that disorientates the senses and challenges our preconceptions, providing access to a new kind of engagement with beauty and tranquility, within a colour field of ever-changing light.
But Kaleidoscope Dream makes a compelling case for him to sit comfortably alongside those aforementioned artists. From Frank Ocean's star-making channel ORANGE, a return to yearning for The xx and the continuing rise of The Weeknd: the big stories have revolved around interesting mutations of the genre.īy comparison, straighter-laced RnB singer Miguel has flown under the radar a little. It's difficult to argue against 2012 being the year of RnB.
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