MIGUEL WILDHEART ALBUM REVIEW
It has been five years since Miguel dropped Wildheart . The album fuses R&B with rock but making it sound as Contemporary or Progressive R&B.
This is Miguel's most risky proyect. Musically, the rock sound separates the record from Miguel's others, but beyond of that , Miguel was trying to show who he was. He wanted to define himself artistically and that is clear even in the title (Wildheart). As he said in an interview to Aesthetic magazine in 2018 'it’s about knowing what you want enough to actually do it' . This is Miguel pursuing what he wants until he finally reaches it.
The record starts with 'a beautiful exit' , a piece that acts as an interlude and since the firsts seconds shows how rock-influenced it is . The track captures the spirit of the title when he sings 'Don't ever sell yourself short, sell your sad things/Accept the new, don't mangle on the past/Believe yourself, trust your intuition/You're here for a reason'. As he sings 'Speeding through all of these red lights, fast life' you can sure feel the speed and trascendence. It seems like Miguel is crossing galaxies or maybe convencionalism , society ties.
In Deal , he sings about the effects of power in a funky and sometimes, synth-pop way.
A topic which comes more explicit in this album is sex (The valley). Miguel seems confident talking about it like in FLESH he writes about carnal love with Prince-influenced vocals.
The fourth track of the album is Coffee , which earned a grammy nomination and talks the transition from an initial sexual relationship to true love. This discovery of love is accompained by Miguel's sincere vocals ('I wish i could paint our love').
Waves is more than a song articulated around a sexual metaphor, Miguel's warmth vocals give a rock touch which fits with the rest of the album . The drums give a tropical vibe to the song . He had something special and decided to do an EP with different remixes of it , which includes one with Tame Impala that sounds alt-pop and that has Kevin Parker touch , another with Kacey Musgraves, who slowed down the song and made it more delicate with her beautiful voice and the last with Travis Scott.
Talking about the features , Miguel joins Kurupt in NWA, his falsetto drives the record funkier but Kurupt verse takes it back to the hood , back to retro hip-hop.He even sing in Spanish . This proves he does not forget his roots (also Destinado a morir) as he would do in Caramelo Duro (ft Kali Uchis) in his 2017 album. The albums also includes a Lenny Kravitz feature in Face the Sun , a love letter probably to his wife with a great guitar solo.
In What's normal anyway he talks about fitting, belonging to a group . Recognising who is he, that he does not fit relates to the Wildheart title idea.
Wildheart is set on Los Angeles and it is reflected in some tracks as Hollywood Dreams, where Miguel talks about a girl who wants to be famous , this dream drives her to emptyness. This song can illustrate perfectly the feelings of many people who come to L.A. to chase her/his dreams of being a star.
...Goingtohell acts as an interlude too. It talks in some sense about religion , there are references to the topic in the whole album . Miguel's vocals keep rising throughout the piece from falsetto to affirmative ones. He is sure of his love for a girl will safe him. The drums, the guitar fits perfect on the track.
Leaves is a break-up song full of honesty. It is probably the simplest song of the album. There is no ornament. Miguel's hearts break in pure nudity. This song is also set in California.
So many songs of the record has got a sense of trascendence. It is like the world is going to end in each song ( A beautiful exit ' Die young' and Coffee 'We can both say goodbye') . Miguel seems fearless to death as Destinado a morir. The record frecuently talks about risky and trascendental love like in Damned 'We set fire to these skies for our love and I'd do it all again', the track that closes up the album.
Miguel risked introducing rock but he remained in his particular sound. The mixture between the two genres is almost perfect ,they delicately melt into wild guitars, heavy drums and warmth vocals . This is Miguel's most conceptual album as from the start he introduces topics (fast life,die young) that will stay throughout the album. The risk of inovating with his third album is reflected in the record's title as well as showing parts of his personality (his sexuality, his roots singing in Spanish, his problems to fit somewhere). Here is an unafraid Miguel .
Read the Aesthetic magazine interview with Miguel :
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