Pitchfork
September 24, 2010
Link
5.5
Here we go again. On 2004 debut Goodies, Ciara Harris really did deserve her title as the "princess of crunk&B," a Lil Jon-bestowed honorific that turned out to be premature only insofar as you still call anything "crunk&B." Since then, the Atlanta starlet has been the artistic equivalent of the tease from that album's chart-busting title track: She'll tantalize with stunning electro-R&B singles, but her albums never quite bring home the goods. So the sensual seduction of 2006's "Promise" gave way to half-baked sophomore effort Ciara: The Evolution; CiCi's third album, last year's roundly disappointing Fantasy Ride, didn't even spawn a better than so-so single of its own, but it did follow a poised, mature guest spot on Enrique Iglesias' Greatest Hits hit "Takin' Back My Love". You get the idea.
Fourth album Basic Instinct is beginning to look like a case of déjà vu. Ciara's label keeps pushing back the release date. BET banned the desperately floor-humping video for uninspired first single "Ride". And this summer The-Dream, supposedly set to executive produce the record alongside Tricky Stewart, actually quit Twitter after he was quoted suggesting that if Ciara's next album flops, she's finished (he says he was taken out of context). In the meantime, the Internet's powers-that-be have leaked a few pretty great tracks, plus several others that explain all the delays. A couple of online mixtapes collecting various potential Basic Instinct material are floating around out there. While another bootleg, Ride It, has more songs, The Princess Is Here is a better, more cohesive listen. Either way, the results so far are discouraging.
When Ciara gets a summery, sultry ballad she can still own it like nobody else. A case in point is The-Dream duet "Speechless", which basically takes the giddy smolder of her "Promise" and the meta-absurdity of his "Falsetto" and turns them into something horn-bedazzled and radiant, crazy in love as much as in lust. Another is "I Run It", a rare moment on The Princess Is Here where Ciara really sounds like the boss-- and exuberantly, melodically so, all twirling synths and pillowy beats, with a little something otherworldly, too: "So let this ATLien give you what you deserve." Self-proclaimed "banger" "Gimmie Dat" is no ballad-- just the opposite-- but its hyperactive dancefloor wiggle combines with an icier, more robotic vocal, serving as sort of a circa-2010 equivalent to 2004's "1, 2 Step". These are the highlights.
But it's like even when Ciara wins, she loses. The mixtape version of "Speechless" strips away The-Dream's weirdly sweet, old-fashioned verse, instead leaving Ciara emoting awkwardly: "Your love is my muse/ No more will I have to choose." Um. Other tracks that appear to aim for similar sensuality just fall flat. "This Is What Love Is" is like a trance-inspired take on the breathy spoken word of Janet Jackson's vastly superior "That's the Way Love Goes"; "Upside Down" renders unsexily explicit what "Promise" was confident enough to evoke. Another problem: When Ciara ad libs, she comes off as deeply boring as she did during The Evolution's misguided inspirational interludes. At one point, thanking her fans for their support, she says blankly, "It means so much to me." A politician never sounded so rehearsed, which makes it harder to root for her.
The rest of The Princess Is Here is most interesting when Ciara reaches out toward rap. First there's "Ride", on which Ludacris reprises his starring role from 2004's impossibly slinky "Oh". Here, though, he's uncharacteristically lazy ("Ride it like a thoroughbred?" Luda!). Also less than his typical spectacular self is André 3000, who appropriately endorses Ciara as "Chaka Khan fine, Anita Baker sweet" on a "Ride" remix. Gucci Mane is amusingly obvious, as usual, on "Feelin' on My Ass", although the scolding refrain contrasts oddly with other songs' naked shamelessness. Yo Gotti and Waka Flocka Flame also make leering tough-guy appearances. While the "Eye of the Tiger"-sampling "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)", on which Ciara actually raps, isn't here, she does jump ably on a Young Jeezy instrumental for "Lose My Mind"-- one of too many complaints about haters-- while her Soulja Boy response "Pretty Girl Swag" is a reminder, like Fantasy Ride's "Pucker Up", that swag simply isn't this Princess's strong suit. Just a thought: Now might be a good time for Lil Wayne, who famously (and endearingly!) proclaimed his love for Ciara on 2007's Da Drought 3, to scrounge up a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.
Fourth album Basic Instinct is beginning to look like a case of déjà vu. Ciara's label keeps pushing back the release date. BET banned the desperately floor-humping video for uninspired first single "Ride". And this summer The-Dream, supposedly set to executive produce the record alongside Tricky Stewart, actually quit Twitter after he was quoted suggesting that if Ciara's next album flops, she's finished (he says he was taken out of context). In the meantime, the Internet's powers-that-be have leaked a few pretty great tracks, plus several others that explain all the delays. A couple of online mixtapes collecting various potential Basic Instinct material are floating around out there. While another bootleg, Ride It, has more songs, The Princess Is Here is a better, more cohesive listen. Either way, the results so far are discouraging.
When Ciara gets a summery, sultry ballad she can still own it like nobody else. A case in point is The-Dream duet "Speechless", which basically takes the giddy smolder of her "Promise" and the meta-absurdity of his "Falsetto" and turns them into something horn-bedazzled and radiant, crazy in love as much as in lust. Another is "I Run It", a rare moment on The Princess Is Here where Ciara really sounds like the boss-- and exuberantly, melodically so, all twirling synths and pillowy beats, with a little something otherworldly, too: "So let this ATLien give you what you deserve." Self-proclaimed "banger" "Gimmie Dat" is no ballad-- just the opposite-- but its hyperactive dancefloor wiggle combines with an icier, more robotic vocal, serving as sort of a circa-2010 equivalent to 2004's "1, 2 Step". These are the highlights.
But it's like even when Ciara wins, she loses. The mixtape version of "Speechless" strips away The-Dream's weirdly sweet, old-fashioned verse, instead leaving Ciara emoting awkwardly: "Your love is my muse/ No more will I have to choose." Um. Other tracks that appear to aim for similar sensuality just fall flat. "This Is What Love Is" is like a trance-inspired take on the breathy spoken word of Janet Jackson's vastly superior "That's the Way Love Goes"; "Upside Down" renders unsexily explicit what "Promise" was confident enough to evoke. Another problem: When Ciara ad libs, she comes off as deeply boring as she did during The Evolution's misguided inspirational interludes. At one point, thanking her fans for their support, she says blankly, "It means so much to me." A politician never sounded so rehearsed, which makes it harder to root for her.
The rest of The Princess Is Here is most interesting when Ciara reaches out toward rap. First there's "Ride", on which Ludacris reprises his starring role from 2004's impossibly slinky "Oh". Here, though, he's uncharacteristically lazy ("Ride it like a thoroughbred?" Luda!). Also less than his typical spectacular self is André 3000, who appropriately endorses Ciara as "Chaka Khan fine, Anita Baker sweet" on a "Ride" remix. Gucci Mane is amusingly obvious, as usual, on "Feelin' on My Ass", although the scolding refrain contrasts oddly with other songs' naked shamelessness. Yo Gotti and Waka Flocka Flame also make leering tough-guy appearances. While the "Eye of the Tiger"-sampling "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)", on which Ciara actually raps, isn't here, she does jump ably on a Young Jeezy instrumental for "Lose My Mind"-- one of too many complaints about haters-- while her Soulja Boy response "Pretty Girl Swag" is a reminder, like Fantasy Ride's "Pucker Up", that swag simply isn't this Princess's strong suit. Just a thought: Now might be a good time for Lil Wayne, who famously (and endearingly!) proclaimed his love for Ciara on 2007's Da Drought 3, to scrounge up a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.
