![]() ![]() The lyrical content of Kaleidoscope Dream could be described as confessional, but most of the tracks seem to fall under the “frankly honest” as opposed to “starkly confessional” school of writing. If the opening track drew comparisons to Marvin Gaye, “Use Me’s” closest comparison would be Björk’s “Army of Me” And like Björk, Miguel vocals and lyrics are able to convey a warm humaneness while being surrounded by musical gadgetry. The third track finds Miguel trying to stretch R&B’s boundaries by using an almost industrial sounding mix of guitar and percussion. The major curveball Miguel throws happens toward the end of the track when the Zombies “Time of the Season” gets a 21st century reworking.Īmazingly, all of this happens within the first 10 minutes of Kaleidoscope Dream. Accompanied by a slithering snare and subwoofer-testing bass, the track shifts from traditional R&B to sci-fi nodding hip-hop in such a fluid style that the change is barely noticeable. The opening track “Adorn” casts an unmistakeable nod to Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”, complete with a minimal keyboard arrangement and a heartfelt plea to “let my love adorn you.” And like a great leadoff track for an album, it seamlessly leads itself into the more futuristic “Don’t Look Back”. Still, even with a lack of proper ad resources, All I Want Is You found an audience and it gave him the artistic and commercial capital to make an immensely rewarding follow-up. Instead of gaining fame via YouTube or via a high-profile cameo on a track, Miguel paid his dues as an unsigned act before signing onto Jive Records – only to have his debut album languish for promotional support while that label disintegrated. Just as the RCA label seems like a throwback, Miguel’s toils in the music reflect a more traditional trajectory of music success. ![]() But there are just enough moments in Kaleidoscope Dream that put it safely in the here and now. Miguel’s raspy R&B croon, his homages to past music greats, and a strong adherence to the “four minutes or less rule” for pop music would make Kaleidoscope Dream feel at home in any decade since the ’60s. But in the case of Miguel’s Kaleidoscope Dream, the ancient stamp of RCA Records is indicative of the 43 minutes awaiting a listener. Usually, the record label is one of the least interesting nuggets of information on the back of an album.
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