Amerie will always have joints, but a cursory skim through In Love and War by this blogger resulted in not a little ambivalence. Most of my indifference comes courtesy of tracks like “Heard ‘Em All” (adding Weezy is insult to injury but I understand how calculated this was, though it was too contrived) and “Swag Back” (based on title alone). With that in mind, I can’t write a proper review. Let’s see what other folks had to say, since my soft spot for her has become a callous:
I’m all for personal growth and experimentation with artists, but there comes a time when they need to find their boundaries and understand what works well for them. After a beautiful debut, it’s almost as if she took what worked well and threw it out in favor of something new. Whereas her debut album flowed so well from start to finish, “In Love & War” pulls the listener in every direction sound wise in procession, causing the album to lack an identity. If you could listen to abstract art, this is what it might sound like. The bottom line is, Amerie has a great voice and unique style, and is very talented, but needs to understand how she succeeded in the past and stick with that.
In Love & War is a hodge-podge of a record with Amerie is bouncing around from doing the rock n’ funk thing, to going hip-hop dance and back to lush electronic R&B. Not that it’s frowned on, just that the album isn’t consistent nor shows the singer in her best light. With the roster of such producers such as Teddy Riley, Sean Garrett and Rico Love, something is still missing and that something is a sense of direction. It’s easy to see what Amerie is trying to achieve, she wants to be heard, and that’s why In Love & War is so blistering and fiery in some ways because she comes on strong. Yet, she comes off too strong, as she’s almost hollering on some cuts, and not really singing. That’s what brings down the album, Amerie trying to out-yell her counterparts. Even though In Love & War is hit n’ miss, a few cuts prove that Amerie still has a lot of pep in her step, and that’s she’s no quitter.
. . . In Love And War—which is her first U.S. release since 2005, thanks to Sony botching the release of Because I Love It two years ago—is quite good, even joy-inducing in spots. (It could maybe be pared of a song or two; the Lil Wayne remix of her artistic-statement single “Heard ‘Em All” is the definition of CD-era filler.)
In Love & War isn’t a bad album. Although it’s not the great material that Amerie was known for with Rich, she has some solid records and the album is pretty cohesive, considering the different producers that she paired with this time around. Truly, the only real gripe with the album is the lack of promotion behind it. Def Jam really dropped the ball in that aspect. But in recent interviews, Amerie says that she plans to reunite with Rich Harrison. I think that’s what she realizes her fans are really waiting for.
If you’re anything like me, you looked at that ConcreteLoop review, saw that Rich Harrison was coming back and almost shit your pants. So, yeah, let’s wait for that fifth album and pretend this didn’t happen.
Tags: amerie, lil wayne, rich harrison, teddy riley
New sh*t: They listened to Amerie’s new album so I wouldn’t have to. http://bit.ly/45KSnD
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
First I want to say is: I like the progressive nature of Amerie’s music. I think with her second CD “Touch” she leaped into a new and different vibe. But a problem did arise:Her vocal style changed. Instead of the warm, romantic, middle and lower vocal tones, she took to a higher, and aggresive vocal style. I still like her, but that first CD seemed to make everyone melt.
She does need a big hit. But more then that, her career is a little too unfocused right now. Will that change? Who knows. But I do know that the clock is ticking. Come on Amerie, so many people are rooting for you!