Flesh Tone

This is going to be massive. I assure you. Its exactly the kind of record that was begging to be made, and I'm glad Kelis NEARLY got there first.

I say nearly because a few years ago Madonna released the exact same kind of record (Confessions...), but (despite its success) nobody was as interested then as they will be now.

This is for the clubs. Which is very IN right now. No doubt about it. Every single track is a brilliantly produced dance-track that would appropriately soundtrack any dance floor littered with sweaty young-adults. It just never ends.

You want to move your feet as soon as it starts. And from then on its Amongst-the-smoke-machines-and-strobing-lights-at-3-am overload.

The songs are kind of hard to differentiate from one another at first, but the more you listen to it, the more you realise that's not the point. Its a continuous mix meant for some heavy rotation.

Kelis' breathy vocals fit in perfectly here. I've always felt a bit hit-and-miss when it came to her previous work, but I think this style suits her perfectly. And there's still enough of her personality visible to stop her from becoming "Featuring Kelis".

That said, the segues that appear after 6 of the 9 tracks are interesting. If you were listening to them in the context of some band, you'd happily bop along thinking "Bless them, having some fun with their instruments". But we're not listening to a band, we're listening to Kelis, and as far as I'm aware, she didn't play any of the instruments on this album. Its a small point I know, and I don't want to dwell on it too much because that seems a bit silly, but I have to admit it left me a bit disorientated the first time around. It's those small parts when it becomes too close to a dance compilation featuring Kelis here and there.

But once you get your head around that, and bear in mind that the songs will all sound the same for a while, you can just enjoy it. Of course I'm a bit biased because this clearly isn't a body work that is to be sat and listened to in headphones. We're supposed to take the disc out to a house party and play it in its entirety, or enjoy individual tracks on a night out. And we all know Acapella well enough to go absolutely crazy when it finally comes on.

So, all in all, the music is fantastic. Kelis is fantastic. The lyrics (designed to make the experience as creative as possible. Dance music usually always has the dullest and least inspiring lyrics) are fantastic. Flesh Tone is fantastic.

And my favourite moment is the rap/chant breakdown in Scream. Perfect.