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Celeb News: Solange: 'True' 77 on Metacritic
Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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Solange: 'True' 77 on Metacritic
NME 80/100
Quote:
If you were going to build the perfect pop star, you’d put her in the coolest family but make her the rebel, the one who smoked weed in their youth and listened to Rick Ross and Dirty Projectors. You’d give her hipster mates, like Olly XX and Dev ‘Blood Orange’ Hynes, and a singing voice like Diana Ross high on crack. Friends, meet Solange Knowles, Beyoncé’s sister and the definition of pop perfection.
The 26-year-old is not a hit-making pop star, but an antidote to pop homogenisation; something that sounds different to everything on the radio, but could still be on the radio.On that front, ‘True’ delivers. Produced by Dev, it’s drenched in ’80s pop – crappy Casio drum sounds, cheesy Hans Zimmer synth and wandering fretless bass. At times it feels unprofessional, as if Dev programmed a drum machine and then just let the tape run. But for the most part, particularly on ‘Don’t Let Me Down’, the production is punchy, poignant and lets Solange’s ghostly gospel vocals shimmer.
Where 2008’s ‘Sol-Angel And The Hadley St Dreams’ was vaguely autobiographical, this record is driven by break-ups and ultimatums. Sometimes they’re crushing, as on the single ‘Losing You’, when Solange tells her love “We used to kiss all night but now it’s just no use”, or ‘Some Things Never Seem To ****ing Work’ when heartbreak has turned to contempt: “So baby is that all you’ve got?/Tell me if you get some more”. Love has to be earned on this EP.
It showcases Solange’s experimentation at its best, but is only a prelude to a full album in 2013. For that, the only thing to expect is something very different.
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http://www.nme.com/reviews/various-artists/13904
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Paste Magazine 79/100
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All Solange Knowles shares with big sis Beyoncé is a family crest. And on the hypnotic sugar-rush that is True (a sort of LP/EP hybrid, following two full-length solo albums), that distinction’s never been clearer: This R&B problem child has finally delivered on her undeniable promise.
On her 2008 breakout, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange worked with some of the world’s hottest, hippest producers (Cee-Lo Green, Mark Ronson, The Neptunes), showcasing an eclectic, offbeat sensibility that blended soul, dance-pop, hip-hop, funk, and psychedelia—but Solange herself was often lost amidst the sonic swirl. The Dev Hynes-produced True, her first release on Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records, is both weirder and more cohesive: The funky, inhumanly hooky “Losing You”—with its loopy percussion and bold synths—sounds like ‘80s-era Madonna sampling Talking Heads; on the seductive “Locked-Up Closets,” futuristic Moogs squiggle over bricolage beats, as Solange’s breathy harmonies waft in like pot mists. Woman’s on fire—the lone awkward moment isn’t her fault whatsoever: Hynes derails the (surprisingly) buttery-smooth “Some Things Never Seem to ****ing Work” with an off-putting spoken-word cameo.
In the past, Solange dabbled with genres and moods like finger-paints; with True, she’s made some bold, inventive brushstrokes.
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http://www.pastemagazine.com/article...ange-true.html
Pitchfork 78/100
Quote:
When we heard from Solange Knowles four years ago, she was a major-label signee trying to find her footing on a conceptual and vintage-sounding album called SoL-Angel and the Hadley Street Dreams. Then she split with Interscope and resurfaced on the indie circuit, carting Jay-Z and her sister Beyoncé to Grizzly Bear concerts on the Williamsburg waterfront and offering up a cover of Dirty Projectors' "Stillness Is the Move". At cynical first glance, it seemed like Knowles was simply backtracking and rebranding, hoping to claim some available indie turf. But this fall, she released "Losing You", a gleaming and spirited new song that transcended the labels she'd been assigned. Released via Terrible, the label co-owned by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, the sly single hinted at the possibilities open to an artist who eschews a traditional model of pop stardom. True, the EP that follows, delivers on the fresh promise of "Losing You" and marks the sound of a singer hitting a graceful stride, in her own time and on her own terms.
Producers and songwriters in the pop world sometimes lurk in the background, leaving the vocalist to be the face of the project. But Solange upends that model by presenting Devonté Hynes, her co-songwriter and True’s main producer, as a full-fledged partner. His name is credited prominently and he appears hand-in-hand with Solange at listening parties and in press photos. And True, a thematically consistent whole, sounds like the product of a lovingly forged artistic bond. The EP shares DNA with Hynes' solo outlet Blood Orange. Like the best bits of his 2011 album Coastal Grooves, it feeds on humble but compulsively listenable tunes that reference the silken grooves of late-80s pop. But Hynes thrives in a supporting role. "If there's a better voice [than mine] suited to a song-- I usually have a female voice in my head, anyway-- then I would rather her sing it," he told me during an interview earlier this year. "It makes me happier."
Hynes has met an ideal female vocal muse in Solange, who executes each cut with simple grace and yearning naïveté. These songs often reconcile girlish optimism with worldly wisdom as though the two are one and the same. "Maybe I lost you, but I was not done having my fun/ Played around with your heart, now I'm playing around in the dark," she apologizes on "Lovers in the Parking Lot". And on “Bad Girls”, she captures the uneasiness of waking up in last night's smeared makeup and feeling unmoored: "I look down on you, so deep down I know that we're the same/ It's stupid thinking that you would want to come play my game," she sings, ending the EP over a twinkle worthy of a closing scene in an early John Hughes film.
Like much of True, it's the sound of a complicated slow dance during a night's dwindling last minutes, fueled by pounding hearts and racing minds. The record never builds to a huge chorus; instead, its hooks bubble up quietly and quickly, then dissipate as the songs return to their downbeat simmer. Hynes tinkers with non-traditional structures, letting the tunes meander in and out of grooves, but while this occasionally causes True to fall slack ("Look Good With Trouble"), it’s a largely effective approach.
True also benefits from its unorthodox length: At seven songs, it's fuller than most EPs, yet too short to be considered an album-album. Somehow, it works. Why add filler just to call it an album? It's another example of Knowles and Hynes forgoing conventional wisdom and doing things their own way. Seven songs can be the perfect length; a collection of accessible and authentic pop can come out on an indie label; you can reshape the typical producer/songwriter/pop star model; you can create unassuming music that still sounds like a big deal. And ultimately, for Solange, you can retrace your steps and find yourself somewhere entirely new.
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http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17373-true/
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Consequence of Sound 60/100
Quote:
From day one, the world’s compared Solange to her diva-licious older sister Beyoncé, and from day one the younger sibling has tried her best to dismiss those comparisons. Her 2003 debut, Solo Star, didn’t help, sounding like a sweeter, less sophisticated version of Bey’s soul-pop hybrid. Thankfully, she found a niche with the dance-pop of 2008′s Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, not to mention her association with of Montreal and general indie-fication. But on her debut for Grizzly Bear Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records, the palpably-titled True, Solange delivers an EP stocked with promising parts slightly dashed by a burgeoning identity crisis.
What’s so baffling about Solange is that, in the face of both her inherent skill and distinct pedigree, she’s unsure of herself well past a decade into her career. Complicating matters is that she has it within her not only to be good but really unique, as she proves with opener “Losing You”. It’s simultaneously a whimsical dance-pop number and something morose and emotional — a struggle that results in delicious chaos. But Solange is up for the challenge, forging a rich vocal presence that’s fragile, damaged, and as confident as any dance floor goddess before her. Her pain is a force of nature, inspiring people to transcend their heartache through mourning beats, which is something she does with stability, confidence, and an air of simplicity that belies her age.
But when she tries to apply that same attention on other numbers, we get cuts like “Some Things Never Seem To ****ing Work” and “Lovers In The Parking Lot”. In the former, the sole upside is that the production, courtesy of collaborator Dev “Lightspeed Champion” Hynes, remains vital, an ’80s-inspired melody of ram shackled Casio drum parts and pitchy piano all but originally intended for the Wendy & Lisa of 1987. But the lyrical content just gets boiled down to its most nauseating, immature extreme; for example: “Remember when you kissed me at Jimmy John’s when I was 17?”. It’s not that Solange is too good for childish displays, but it’s borderline parody to be that direct and to the point when subtlety is so much sexier.
“Lovers In The Parking Lot” highlights the divorce between production and Solange’s performance. It’s perhaps the most muddled beat on a very short effort, a confused collision of classical piano and jumbled synth that tries for the successful dynamic of “Losing You”, but trips because there are too many opposing parts at war. And because the beat implodes with gusto, Knowles sounds confused in her approach, resulting in a half-hearted croon that plasticizes emotion with falsetto interludes and faux cracking. From note one, however, these are tricks that leave the listener feeling disconnected.
Perhaps the most intriguing pieces on the entire EP are “Looks Good With Trouble” and “Bad Girls (Verdine Version)”. With these two cuts, Solange takes on the role of a feminine Abel Tesfaye, purveying a blend of sleek, minimalist PBR&B without nearly as much irony involved. The former begins as a perfect homage, heavy on the bass, reverb, and sultry harmonies, but the methodical approach ends rather abruptly. Just when Solange really starts etching out her identity, she flips it on the eraser, leading this critic to believe she wasn’t confident enough for a true self-portrait. Like “Lovers” before it, her confidence is crucial to a track’s success, and if she loses it, then she shatters any chance of connecting with her listeners.
Thankfully, there’s a re-do with closer “Bad Girls (Verdine Version)”, which gels off the same construct, save for a funkier bass line and synth work straight out of The Cars’ “Drive”. Albeit a stronger example of her “transition”, Solange captivates and itches as she follows the blueprints behind the latest revival of R&B, acting emotionally aloof and yet also sinfully transparent. It traces back to her confessional tone that’s both disconnected and restricted, further exemplified by the ache in her voice that heightens the effusive vocals. It’s as if she’s unsure on how to let go entirely of her innocent sparkle and playfulness, which stunts a potentially evocative construct.
If there’s any sort of upside to the instances where Solange is less than fierce, it’s that this EP comes at a rather crucial time in her career. No one knows what she can become except for Solange herself. If she’s truly intent on life as an indie-leaning electro-pop diva, she’s going to have to leave behind her remaining doubts and fears and embrace the new Solange completely. We may think she has the chutzpah to mature, but nothing’s going to get done until she knows she’s so much more than someone’s little sister.
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http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/1...owles-true-ep/
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Member Since: 12/5/2009
Posts: 9,974
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Solange her talent 
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Member Since: 11/6/2010
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Member Since: 5/7/2009
Posts: 53,753
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ACCLAIme runs in the family 
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kisuke
ACCLAIme runs in the family |
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Member Since: 1/8/2012
Posts: 8,828
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Member Since: 8/24/2010
Posts: 9,422
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Amazing.
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Member Since: 5/10/2011
Posts: 16,465
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Member Since: 1/1/2011
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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I like Losing You
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Member Since: 9/19/2011
Posts: 32,201
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This EP is GOLD... and it deserves the praise
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Member Since: 9/22/2011
Posts: 9,178
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Not bad for a pop nepotism turned fashion blogger turned indie darling. 
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Member Since: 5/10/2011
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Member Since: 12/14/2011
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I love the album cover btw.
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Member Since: 2/9/2008
Posts: 32,819
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That 50 review sounds at worst like a 60. 
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Member Since: 2/9/2008
Posts: 32,819
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That 50 review sounds at worst like a 60.
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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Paste Magazine 79/100
Quote:
All Solange Knowles shares with big sis Beyoncé is a family crest. And on the hypnotic sugar-rush that is True (a sort of LP/EP hybrid, following two full-length solo albums), that distinction’s never been clearer: This R&B problem child has finally delivered on her undeniable promise.
On her 2008 breakout, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, Solange worked with some of the world’s hottest, hippest producers (Cee-Lo Green, Mark Ronson, The Neptunes), showcasing an eclectic, offbeat sensibility that blended soul, dance-pop, hip-hop, funk, and psychedelia—but Solange herself was often lost amidst the sonic swirl. The Dev Hynes-produced True, her first release on Chris Taylor’s Terrible Records, is both weirder and more cohesive: The funky, inhumanly hooky “Losing You”—with its loopy percussion and bold synths—sounds like ‘80s-era Madonna sampling Talking Heads; on the seductive “Locked-Up Closets,” futuristic Moogs squiggle over bricolage beats, as Solange’s breathy harmonies waft in like pot mists. Woman’s on fire—the lone awkward moment isn’t her fault whatsoever: Hynes derails the (surprisingly) buttery-smooth “Some Things Never Seem to ****ing Work” with an off-putting spoken-word cameo.
In the past, Solange dabbled with genres and moods like finger-paints; with True, she’s made some bold, inventive brushstrokes.
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http://www.pastemagazine.com/article...ange-true.html
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Member Since: 4/10/2012
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Member Since: 9/19/2011
Posts: 32,201
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EW gave 83 and CMJ 80
The EP scores 80/100 now
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Member Since: 6/19/2012
Posts: 819
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This girl is AMAZING!
On 'True EP,' Solange Knowles Finally Finds Her Voice (REVIEW)
Solange's new 7-track EP is a fine collection of smooth songs that will continue to help the singer find her spot in the music world outside of sister Beyonce's immense shadow.
The EP is the follow-up to 2008's "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams," a wonderfully crafted retro-soul adventure. Solange continues with that sound on "True," collaborating with British musician Devonte Hynes, who has also worked with The Chemical Brothers and Diana Vickers.
The album finds the 26-year-old singing about a relationship that hasn't really worked out. The lead single and opening track, "Losing You," kicks off things terrifically with its odd (but amazing) beat and Solange's dreamy vocals. Each song flows easily into the next, making the EP easy listening and addictive.
At times, Solange is a vocal tease: She starts songs lightly and often adds enjoyable riffs near the end of the tracks. That's especially on "Lovers In the Parking Lot," and it's a voice worth listening to.
CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: "Lovers In the Parking Lot" is oh-so-good.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2194267.html
and is 80/100 on metacritic
when your faves? ( sorry, i hate this phrase but since i don't speak english is so funny when you write it everywhere, in every thread, I love it!  )
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