Album Review: Janelle Monae, The Age of Pleasure

Janelle Monae

The Age of Pleasure (released June 9, 2023)

I think some of y’all missed the message.

When Janelle Monae opened her new single, “Float” with the lines “no, I’m not the same,” it was easy to take that as face value.

Twitter, planet Earth’s favorite thirst-trap app, lost its collective mind as the seemingly once-reserved star literally shed her old buttoned-down persona, stripping herself of her tailored suits and leaving nothing to the imagination.

The retweets were crazy and the memes were endless. I swear my timeline was 80% nipples.

But those of us who have been riding with Cindi Mayweather for more than a decade know there’s more to the story than instant gratification.

Ever since her debut album in 2010, I’ve celebrated Janelle as one of the most essential – yet criminally overlooked – artists of the past decade. All three of her previous LPs – The ArchAndroid, The Electric Lady, and Dirty Computer – were near 5-star affairs, all innovative and captivating explorations of feminism and Afro-futurism. They were a welcome oasis during one of the driest spots in music history.

So while current convos have centered on Janelle liberating herself from dressing like Bruce Wayne’s butler, Day One fans know that this newfound exploration of her sexuality isn’t that new at all.

After all, this is the same woman sang about how, ahem, exhilarating yoga could be. She’s also the same lady who dressed like a literal vagina in a music video.

The evolution of Janelle Monae is not a drastic publicity stunt. It’s been a years-long journey of self-exploration.

So no, she’s not the same – but it’s not just because she freed her nipples. She’s freeing herself in her music.

And that’s what makes album No. 4, The Age of Pleasure, such an intriguing, yet sometimes frustrating listen.

Janelle’s previous albums were concept pieces that detailed the misadventures of her robotic alter-ego, Cindi, and used the complexities of her fictional world as a commentary for our own. Themes of liberation, survival and star-crossed love were heavy. And poignant.

But to put it simply, The Age of Pleasure ain’t that deep.

Basically, it sounds like one of those bootleg Jamaican mixtapes they used to sell at the barbershop in the early 2000s. Sexy, sticky, fun.

But that’s not to say that Janelle doesn’t have anything to say.

True to its name, first single “Float” is all about uplifting, quickly going from tranquil to triumphant as the tempo rises. “Champagne S***” is a funky vacation anthem tailor-made for y’all’s summer IG reels: “I used to pray about takin’ vacations/Remember them bills we split?/Now I’m here with Bueno and we bussin’ bottles/Like we won a championship.” It definitely feels like a victory lap. “Champagne S***” bleeds quite nicely into “Black Sugar Beach,” one of the album’s many interludes. The instrumentation is bolder and I wish we got more of it – one of several instances where Ms. Monae leaves us wanting more. But more on that later.

While the first half of the album comes off as a decadent pool party, the second half more strongly embraces its Jamaican-tinged influences for summer lovin’.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Lipstick Lover” when it first rolled out a few weeks back, but it feels more comfortable here than as a standalone track, especially when paired with the pulsating bass of “The Rush” and the addictive groove of “Know Better.” Borrowing that infamous “Rump Shaker” sax, Janelle and guest CKay flirt with each other in the steamiest of scenarios: “Committed to your shrine/I just wanna feel your essence in mе/And I know we both deserve it.”

The Age of Pleasure really begins to gel in these last few tracks. “Only Have Eyes 42” is the best showcase of Janelle’s underappreciated vocals and “A Dry Red” is a gentle, sexy closer than vanishes right as it gets going.

And that’s one of the biggest issues with the project – it’s too abbreviated.

Before y’all try to pull receipts, let me beat you to the punch – yes, I’m the guy who LOUDLY preaches against needlessly padded playlists that masquerade as albums. But in many cases here, songs fade out just as they begin to gain momentum. I get that Janelle is going for a experience that feels like a DJ’s summer set, but there’s an odd lack of depth – a phrase I’ve never used when discussing previous Janelle projects.

Also, a few songs feel like retreads of stuff we’ve heard before. “Haute” feels like a discarded reference track from Beyonce’s Renaissance and “Water Slide” uses the same old waterlogged sex metaphors that we’ve heard for the past 60 years. Even the expertly produced “Phenomenal” – sure to be a fan favorite – stumbles with its heavy-handed metaphors. For a woman who made her name being light-years ahead of the competition, it’s weird to see her stuck in the moment.

By no means is The Age of Pleasure a poor project. If you temper your expectations, it’s basically a summer EP with a few bright spots, rather than the intergalactic journeys Janelle has taken us on before.

The less-is-more appeal isn’t just a fashion choice, it’s clearly a business strategy. If this is your introduction to Janelle, I can see this project being an easy entry point into her world. For others, it’s tough to accept a one-off night at the club when you’re used to touring the cosmos.

Still, the album’s message is clear – Janelle is not just your robotic musical savior. Nor is she just your sex symbol. She’s free of the labels.

She’s not the same.

And that’s cool. But it still feels like we were left hanging.

Best tracks: “Know Better,” “Only Have Eyes 42,” “The Rush”

3.5 stars out of 5