Three years after his sophomore effort won him a Grammy, R&B singer-songwriter Miguel took to the studio to grace his fans with some new music just in time for summer.
On June 26, the West Coast crooner released his third album, “Wildheart,” through Bystorm Entertainment and RCA Records. Although the project prides itself on exploring the multifarious nature of attraction, it also delves into issues of insecurity and escape.
Longtime rocker Lenny Kravitz and his screeching guitar make an appearance on “face the sun,” while rapper Kurupt lays a verse on “NWA.”
Gritty synthesizers and industrial boom-baps kick off “the valley,” a song that sounds like it belongs in a Kama Sutra soundtrack.
Miguel floats over the jagged instrumental with a syrupy blend of subtlety and sacrilege. His verses are seductive but deliberately paced, a much-needed foreplay before a bare-all chorus robs you of all innocence.
The valley Miguel references is located in California — the San Fernando Valley to be exact — which is most famous for being the Mecca of the adult film industry. Regardless, the song is catchy enough to stay in your head and slip out during the absolute worst time.
“Coffee” seems to find Miguel settling down into a relationship as he shifts from promiscuity to monogamy. Unlike the raw carnality present in “the valley,” the focus of “Coffee” isn’t lust; it’s falling in love. He emphasizes the little things that make intimacy worthwhile, like waking up the next morning and not feeling the need to flee.
Miguel admits to feeling like an outsider on “what’s normal anyway,” the album’s most divergent and vulnerable track. A lone, riffing guitar begins to follow the singer as he meditates on a life of loneliness.
He reveals during the song that as a child, he couldn’t identify with any particular culture due to his spotted heritage. Even once he grew up, his style didn’t seem to fit into conventional pegs. As the song breaks into its aptly unorthodox chorus, ethereal ambience fills in blank spaces and continues evolving.
By the end of his dejection, Miguel finds a semblance of light. And just like that, the “Wildheart” beats on.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 7/9/15]
