MUSIC REVIEW: Flesh Tone by Kelis

FLESH TONE by Kelis
(Released 2010, A&M Records)

✮✮✮✮✩

Of course, when I first heard the news that Kelis had released an all-Electro album, my instinctual response was, "HUH?!" But despite the odds being heavily stacked against her, she actually pulls it off, almost flawlessly in fact. Over the course of eleven years, Kelis has gone from being the fiery-haired banshee shrieking "I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW" to the bubblegum pop girl with one irresistible "Milkshake" to the boisterously "Bossy" hip hop performer and now, the Neo-Disco Diva. I must applaud her dexterity because like a chameleon, Kelis adapts perfectly to whatever artistic genre she approaches.


Not very often does this happen with me and CDs, but one of my favorite tracks on Flesh Tone is the "Intro," a hypnotic electro romp with a catchy chorus: "You draw me in, Every time I think I'm free you win, Just like a sin, though I know it's wrong, I still give in." The intro melts perfectly into "22nd Century," a hardhitting neo-disco dance track that explicitly sets the futuristic tone for the entire album. The rest of "Flesh Tone" grooves along with that same post-modern vibe (retro yet futuristic). Of the rest of the tracks, my personal favorites are "Brave," "Scream," and the lead single, "Acapella."



Truth be told, it actually took about a week for me to embrace this album. That's because I was listening to individual tracks, out of chronological order... You can't do that with this kind of album. Flesh Tone isn't just an album, it's an Electro dance experience. You start at the Intro and just let it run its course. Thanks to the surprisingly beautiful segues between tracks that are not-too-long but not-too-short, the album has a spectacular flow, to the point where sometimes you won't realize where some tracks begin and others end.

Congratulations, Kelis, not only have you made an excellent dance album, but it comes across as a genuine work of art, not some manufactured product cooked up by record executives to capitalize on the Dance market.