Review: Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

Concept albums by there very definition are sprawling, often incomprehensible and bloated affairs. Sure the music is supposed to resonate with some kind of "human suffering" or any other interchangeable universal theme, but often times the only person who knows what they are singing about are the writers and composers themselves.


Everyone from The Beatles to Beyonce have put out their own conceptual pieces each to varying results. At times they are parody made (Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell), wonderfully disjoint (The Who's Quadrophenia) or incredibly biographical (Pink Floyd's The Wall). 


Yet the art of the concept album has dwindled along with the sales of CDs. People don't want to sit around while they dissect album artwork and song lyrics anymore. With most music being purchased through wi-fi connections and the essence of the "album" in it's traditional sense being lost, why make a concept most will never bother to look for anyway?


Janelle Monae, an up and comer from Kansas City, has made the first, and new model, for the concept album of the 21st century with her debut album The ArchAndroid. Ambitiously messy, uncompromisable and incomprehensible, yet completely earnest and memorable for it's encompassing musical landscape, Monae has made a landmark electro pop effort that shows Lady Gaga where to put her rhinestone breasticles.


The album is a blend OutKast freak-rap, Lauryn Hill soulful sorrows, Gnarls Barkley waling and Kubrick sci-fi adventures. Inspired by Fritz Lang's ground breaking 1927 film Metropolis, the record is an hour long tale about a messianic android who... ya know what, it doesn't matter. You'll never grasp what she's really trying to say beneath the glitter and shine of the production. At least Monae knows so and focuses on piecing together an album of one solid tune after another.


Almost every subgenre of R&B is experimented with and turned on its head to glorious results. Whether getting her freak on a la James Brown on "Tightrope", made all the more funky by an appearance from Big Boi,  visiting her Whitney Houston youth in "Locked Inside" or meshing Radiohead compressed vocals with Danger Mouse hypnotics on "Mushrooms and Roses", Monae zig zags from one musical pallet to the next in effortless fashion.


The music may be a bumpy ride for some and the lack of a singular musical vision may put off some critical purists, but what this 24 year-old songstress had done has pushed the bounds of what popular music is for the iPod generation. Miley may try to wear leather, Rhianna may look like Catwoman, and Gaga may be the best Marylin Manson rip off of all time, but Miss Monae has made an album that is greater than the sum of its parts. There is just enough of something for everyone to sink their teeth in to and keep them coming back for a more rewarding listen. Indie kids and Ke$ha fans are all welcomed.


While The ArchAndroid may go under the radar all year long, it's destined to become one of the defining pop albums for this decade. Much like Kid A dared to be great in 2000, Monae has already set the bar high for an arms race of powerful music and bad ass head wear.


Grade: A+


Key Tracks: "Locked Inside" "Cold War" "Wondaland"