Tag: Miguel

Miguel – “Caos” review

Miguel is a 40 year old singer/songwriter, actor & producer from Los Angeles, California introducing himself in 2010 off his moderate full-length debut All I Want is You. His sophomore effort albeit RCA Records debut Kaleidoscope Dream & Wildheart would both go on to become some of the most beloved alternative R&B of the previous decade, although War & Leisure towards the end of 2017 was moderately received. However, he’s finally making a return to music with his 5th studio album to celebrate his birthday.

The title track & final single begins by showing off his bilingual singing chops over an apocalyptic instrumental whereas “The Killing” works in a psychedelic guitar reminiscent of “PRIDE.” by Kendrick Lamar for a nod to the Outlawz single “Hail Mary”. We get breakbeats, deep house & alternative R&B colliding during the self-produced single “RIP” trying to figure out if he’s in heaven or hell leading into the psychedelic soul-inspired “New Martyrs (Ride 4 U)” asking his new lover if she’s with it or not.

“Triggered” sings about how beautiful it is to him for this woman he has in mind explodes & loves him in her rage leading into the Spanish neo/psychedelic soul single “El Pleito” co-produced by DJ Dahi ponders the idea of going dark because he’s been in his feeling lately. We get some more silky guitar riffs during “Perderme” desiring to mate with his new lover until they face into eternity while “Oscillate” seductively sings about wanting this female to come heal these thoughts of his & make him feel indestructible.

Starting the final leg, “Nearsight (SID)” ethereally advises for this woman to slow it down because he’s certain that he won’t feel the way he is ever again while “Angel’s Song” brings the psychedelic guitars for a tribute to his son Angelito. “Always Time” nears the end of the Caos with some grungier elements thanks to Jeff Bhasker & Jerry Duplessis reflecting on his marriage to his long-time partner Nazanin Mandi since their divorce was finalized in 2023 & “Comma / Karma” featuring Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton sends off the LP with a 2-parter.

Learning that transformation can be a violent process, Caos sonically bends said violence into a triumphant comeback for the alternative R&B trailblazer that lands directly in the middle of War & Leisure’s political & personal subject matter with the darkest musical opus of Miguel’s entire career since a lot has happened to him in both of those aspects of his life. His vision’s a lot clearer than it’s been previously, giving rare insight through music & visual storytelling while inviting listeners to confront & harness our own turmoils.

Score: 4/5

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Miguel – “War & Leisure” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, actor & producer Miguel. Introducing himself in 2010 off his moderate full-length debut All I Want is You, his sophomore effort albeit RCA Records debut Kaleidoscope Dream & the follow-up Wildheart a month after my high school graduation would both go on to become some of the most beloved alternative R&B of the previous decade. Over a couple years later, he’s ready for some War & Lesiure.

“Criminal featuring Rick Ross begins comparing their love to committing crime over a wavy yet smooth instrumental, but there are a handful of cringey lines on there. Especially the ones about Columbine & Duck Duck Goose near the end of the first verse as well as the one about 9/11 at the start of the second verse. The next song “Pineapple Skies” sees Miggy telling his lover everything will be ok over a spacey instrumental while “Sky Walker” with Travis Scott cleverly inserts many pop culture references as they brush off their haters over a druggy beat.

The song “Banana Clip” talks about protecting this woman in a war on love over a funky instrumental & the song “Wolf” compares himself to just that over a guitar & explosive drums from Raphael Saadiq. The song “Harem” encourages this woman to follow him to see the world in a new way over a mellow instrumental & then the track “Told You So” talks about setting his lover free over a Jeff Bhasker instrumental kin to Michael Jackson’s output during the 80’s.

The “City of Angels” is a vividly told story of Los Angeles fictionally getting destroyed & Miguel expressing his remorse of cheating on his girlfriend prior to her getting killed in the bombing over a down-tuned guitar. The track “Caramelo Duro” (“Hard Candy” in Spanish) is Miggy’s first predominantly Spanish song, but he does it fantastically over this funky beat.

The song “Come Through & Chill” is pretty self-explanatory, as both Miguel & J. Cole encourage their ladies to swing by their cribs to have sex all night over a tropical Salaam Remi instrumental. The track “Anointed” is pretty much Miguel telling his woman that she makes him feel like a God over some bass & then the album then finishes off with “Now”,’ where he gives his take on the world today over a twangy guitar.

Given that I still may have enjoyed a great deal of War & Leisure, I wouldn’t put it in the same discussion as Kaleidoscope Dream or Wildheart. The contemporary/alternative R&B production with minor influences of synth-funk & neo-soul doesn’t feel as ambitious as both of it’s predecessors were during my adolescence with the subject matter getting more political than Miguel has ever been previously.

Score: 3.5/5