Miller also deserves credit for not wanting to Auto-Tune his portion of the track and for keeping things sounding real and off-the-cuff. Grande unquestionably out-sings Miller, but I don’t think that surprises anyone. “My Favorite Part” (Featuring Ariana Grande) Miller is brimming with confidence here and this song’s playful tone takes it a long way. “Stay” This works well as a jazzy companion to “Dang!” Miller makes this relaxed groove sound effortless while a trumpet solos and dances over the beat. Sure, Ty Dolla Sign’s vocoder-assisted singing on “Cinderella” sort of ruins the mood a little, but the beats remain solid throughout, with the album maintaining its integrity even when Miller drops some graphically sexual verses. This is more of a collection of erotically-minded slow-jams than it is a traditional rap record, with Miller half-singing his way through the playlist. Miller is out to create a sensual kind of ambiance, from the heavy-breathing embedded into the beat on “Skin” to the spacy synths that give “Soulmate” its backbone. This is an album more about mood than anything. Paak-assisted “Dang” give the album a smooth-sensibility. The chilled, jazzy sound of “Stay” and the Anderson. Quicklist: 2title: Mac Miller’s “The Divine Feminine” ****text: Mac Miller’s fourth proper album finds the rapper fully out of the haze that coated his second album, “Watching Movies With The Sound Off,” and building off of his last record, “GO:OD A.M.” “The Divine Feminine” is delivered in a tight 10-track, 53-minute set and from the very beginning, it is clear that this album aims to be (and succeeds in being) a musically sophisticated set built on butter-soft grooves. The track becomes a slamming groove thanks to a trippy beat, a gospel-choir and an orchestra. “Stronger” This is another strong ballad. This is quite a minimalist track for Usher and he makes the most out of every second. ![]() I can’t help but think that Usher must have been listen to dark, emotional records like Halsey’s still tremendous “Badlands” record. “Hard II Love” This is a beautiful love ballad. ![]() Accidentally or not, this says something really interesting about the way we view men and women in our society. Then Usher comes in and talks about what he finds attractive in a woman and it is all shallow, physical attributes. Here’s a stray observation: On the bridge between “Need U” and “Missin U,” a female voice says what she finds attractive in a man and it is all about confidence and internal qualities. There’s still a slight awkwardness when Usher postures this way. He can’t pull off a line like “All I think about is b-,” but on the 54-second interlude “Mind Of A Man,” he attempts to do so. Things get awkward when Usher tries to put on a tougher exterior. It’s obvious he’s been listening to the likes of Future and Fetty Wap and songs like “Downtime” and the opener “Need U” often find their pace with Usher sing-rapping his way through the grooves, although “Need U” shows some obvious nods as well to the lighter side of Michael Jackson and jams like “The Lady In My Life” and “Butterflies,” even if the execution is pollinated with other elements. On its weaker side, Usher tries too hard to keep up with current trends. ![]() ![]() In fact the title track and the downright lush, “Tell Me” redeem the album after the skeletal and weak, Young Thug-assisted “No Limit,” which is just a bizarre shout-out to Master P extended into a full song for no particular reason. Quicklist: 1 title: Usher’s “Hard II Love” ***text: “Hard II Love” is either Usher’s eighth or ninth studio album, depending on how and if you count 2010’s add-on EP “Versus.” In all, this album is a heavily back-loaded mixed bag of a record, but the excellence of the final five tracks make up for the weaker moments in the first 10. In this final week of summer, there are still a few more bright delights. — - intro: This week Usher returns with his latest album, “Hard II Love,” Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller gets chilled, punk band Against Me! continue to “shape shift,” electro- pop duo AlunaGeorge release their sophomore album, Bad Suns bring a pop-sheen to indie-rock sounds of the past and Cymbals Eat Guitars release their fourth album.
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