Monáe music more playful and pop since stretching her acting chops
JANELLE MONÁE “DIRTY COMPUTER” (UNIVERSAL)
Janelle Monáe is an incredible actress. That was made obvious in 2016, when she had key supporting roles in two Oscar-winning films, “Moonlight” and “Hidden Figures.” Anyone who’d followed her music career from the beginning would not have been surprised: right from the outset, the incredibly talented singer and performer seemed to be playing a part. Which she was: her first three releases were apparently the work of a character called Cindi Mayweather, an “arch-android” inspired by the film “Metropolis.” Despite Monáe’s prodigious gifts, there was indeed always something arch about her, something overly performative that made her seem more stiff than soulful. Not that there’s anything wrong with that: it worked for everyone from David Bowie to Rihanna. But with rare exceptions, Monáe’s music always sounded more like work than fun.
Now that she’s come out as a thespian, her music is more playful and pop than it ever was. Maybe hanging out with Prince and Stevie Wonder — as one does, when you’re Janelle Monáe — convinced her to let her hair down (metaphorically, anyway). “Dirty Computer” is many things: political, pop, full of provocative invocations of “pussy power,” infused with the ghost of Prince (particularly the supremely funky “Make Me Feel”), and a major media event, with an accompanying album-length video, much like Beyoncé’s “Lemonade.”
“If the world should end tonight, I had a crazy, classic life,” she sings on the second track here. That she certainly has. And this album indicates it’s about to get even better.
Stream: “Make Me Feel,” “Pynk,” “I Got the Juice”
GALAXIE “SUPER LYNX DELUXE” (LAZY AT WORK)
Fuzzed-out guitar rock with plenty of psychedelic and dreampop textures mixed with electronics and drum machines and turntable-scratching and (from I can tell) rather silly lyrics in French — that’s a formula that seems bound to fail. Yet here is the fifth album from Montreal band Galaxie, led by guitarist Olivier Langevin, which manages to combine all those elements into a cohesive whole. At times it’s a throwback to the punk rock tracks on “Check Your Head”-era Beastie Boys, with more of disco direction than funk.
Seven years ago, Galaxie was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and were the last francophone act to do so. Not sure that’s possible again, but at the very least “Super Lynx Deluxe” sounds like a fantastically ridiculous night out on Boul. St-Laurent.
Stream: “Phenomenal,” “Magie Magie,” “Manitou”
GREG KEELOR “LAST WINTER” (WARNER)
Greg Keelor spent 2016 and 2017 dealing with death in his family and circle of friends, including that of his peer Gord Downie, while also experiencing pain related to his tinnitus, which made playing music live with Blue Rodeo an increasingly excruciating experience. It’s got so bad that he now wears earplugs just to walk down the street, and can no longer listen to his beloved car radio.
In the midst of all that, he made this four-song EP, which is no slight effort: each of the four songs is eight or nine minutes long. It opens with “Gord’s Tune,” a fond farewell to The Tragically Hip singer, which Keelor posted online after Downie’s death was announced. It closes with “3 Coffins,” inspired by the death of his mother. In between is a cover of a Peter, Paul and Mary song, and the hypnotic “City is a Symphony.” “Last Winter” is a slow, psychedelic dream, with lush string arrangements that elevate simple songs into something enchanting.
Keelor’s condition makes it unclear if he’ll be able to continue making music. If this meditative mood-piece proves to be a swan song, it’s a lovely way to go out.
Stream: all of it. It’s four songs.