Janelle Monáe – ‘Cold War’
This week alone, there are three notable tales of soul heartbreak doing the rounds, three different ways of saying broadly the same thing – you, my man, have done me wrong. Why is this? – in an ocean of similarly-themed songs from last week, and next week, and all the weeks of the year rolled into one.
Beyoncé is releasing the upbeat, funky-as-hell ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ as another single from ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’. This brings her running total so far up to, what, seven? Six? Something like that. As is often the case, the way she chooses to express her heartbreak is through the medium of rampaging self-regard – if her nickname for herself isn’t The Irresistable Force, it damn well should be – butting up against a stone wall of indifference. She thinks she’s amazing, so why doesn’t he? It’s a mystery to all of us, frankly, although there’s something to be said for not being quite so clingy.
Fewer singles, more mystique. It’s just a thought.
Meanwhile, Shontelle is making a decent fist of being Beyoncé. ‘Impossible’ is a very nowadaysy ballad, blessed with a perfectly weighted versal melody, a huge, pleading (if entirely repetitious) chorus, and the kind of production sheen you can see your face in, even if you’re listening on headphones. It’s quite good, but doesn’t linger in the mind at all. Craft over astonishment, y’see.
But, enjoyable as both of these are, the show has once again been well and truly stolen by Janelle Monáe. And here is why…
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