Miguel: Wildheart | Album Review

These are good times for buckwild musical adventure-seekers, and Miguel is certainly one of them.

His previous brace of albums took the room to roam from one style to the next with nonchalance and aplomb.

There's a similar freewheeling intent on Wildheart, with Miguel getting weird not just around the edges, but right in the heart of the matter too as he bosses track after track with great skill.

Like his contemporaries D'Angelo and Kendrick Lamar (and Wildheart has suss, sparkle and spirit in common with Black Messiah and To Pimp A Butterfly), Miguel gets around the matter of contradictions and expectations by simply blanking them.

Wildheart works because Miguel has increased the volume and sharpened the tone.

Tracks like Waves, Coffee and Flesh are golden in texture, A Beautiful Exit is a powerful, searing statement, and tracks like Valley and NWA are grainy, grimey odes to Los Angeles.

An impressive tour-de-force.

[ officialmiguel.com ]