Music Review // Meshell Ndegeocello – Comet, Come To Me
The twelfth album from
Meshell Ndegeocello finds the artist in fine form. But that’s not unusual, the
soul, funk and associated other genres associated with the artist are all
represented here – but is it as good as what went before?
In the tradition of
previous releases there is a cover thrown into the mix and on this occasion it
opens the album. It’s a cover of Whodini’s ‘Friends’ that actually works rather
well, seeing a return of the amped up hip-hop bass and potent drums that
characterised her earlier work. There is always a danger that a cover leading
the album will undermine the rest, but for an artist as intuitive as
Ndegeocello it’s not the case. The ear worms constantly crop up, and sometimes
they even get up and dance.
Good Day Bad is one such example;
it’s stripped down sound and the artist’s distinctive voice working perfectly together
on this contemplative, country-undertoned track. Indeed, more than any album
previously, ‘Comet, Come To Me’ seems to drift by on first listen, getting lost
in its own ether. Only on later listens do you realise the power of what you’re
hearing – subtle moments such as the horn interlude on Forget My Name,
intermingled with a spacey percussion and keys arrangement.
The lead single from the
album was the still ear pleasing Conviction. With its straight ahead chorus and
wonderful lyrics there is much to get lost in for sure. Just as the rest of the
album gives plenty of opportunities to check out her soulful muse, so does the
album as a whole suggest a more restrained but no less intense musical
direction for the artist.
Sure, this is not the out
and out funk-hop of Cookie: The anthropological Mixtape but it’s just as listenable.
In fact, even in her less inspired moments Ndegeocello is more than listenable.
Often compared to Prince, (the female version of, no less!) her work ethic
certainly keeps a close pace between releases and there is rarely anything
filler on this album at ball.
It’s hard to find fault
with a true artist such as Ndegeocello and that’s only a good thing in our
opinion. Sure, there is a life outside music for any artist but really don’t
care long as the albums keep coming and they’re as good as the majority of her
twelve released so far. Comet, Come To Me is not as grand an achievement as the
opening quartet of albums of her career but it doesn’t need to be – it stands
on its own in all the life imbued righteousness it deserves. Seek this out, for
sure. We can say that with conviction.
(Sebastian Gahan)
