On his breakthrough sophomore album Kaleidoscope Dream, Miguel created dreamy, sultry, poppy sexually explicit tunes in an 80’s pop package. Now he returns with Wildheart, an album more reflective of his true talents.
From the first few seconds of opener ‘A Beautiful Exit‘s bass guitar, the new set has Miguel more comfortable in his own voice than ever. You’ve heard elements before from the dying moments of his previous album. But here the song feels less experimental and instead as if he’s discovered exactly what he wanted. It doesn’t feel like a typical intro. Where the singer may vaguely mutter the concept of the album; instead the track feels like the starting point, the brightest moment on an album that gets progressively moodier with each track.
‘The Deal’ breaks down by the tracks end and flows comfortably into the even to heavy mood of ‘The Valley’, which sets the albums tone for a good few tracks. ‘The Valley’ is followed by single ‘Coffee‘ and the pair of tracks have similar subjects, yet manage to do the opposite while remaining the same. They manage to be sexually explicit, without being crude or childish.
On ‘The Valley‘ Miguel is concerned with having the type of sex worth filming. The type that they famously make movies of in ‘the valley’. The song eschews the typical checklist of moves and discusses sexuality as a whole. ‘Coffee‘ on the other hand, takes the sexuality and somehow makes sex seem like the classiest, romantic act ever, to the point you’d think you’ve been doing it wrong. He’s not talking about love making, it’s literally f__king, but Miguel sells it to you with maturity and romance. With it’s post dubstep keyboards, it’s an anthem that creeps up on you and allows you to get caught up in the feeling of the song.
Throughout the rest of the album Miguel pushes his influences to the limit. His last album saw him dabble a little before stopping off to make a catchy pop song. Here he seems less concerned with this, and more focused on making great music. The 70’s funk on ‘Waves’ plays a role but isn’t everything. Miguel is sure to pay homage without aping, allowing his own talents to shine through. The heavy guitars and post funk atmosphere permeate the record all the way to the end, with ‘Leave’ and the Lenny Kravtiz featuring ‘Face The Sun‘ playing the one-two punch to close the album in rather spectacular fashion.
Wildheart sees Miguel deliver less immediate singles, but more musicianship and a record that speaks to his immense talents, and carves a path of his own entirely.
