Meshell Ndegeocello
Comfort Woman (Maverick/Warner Bros.) Ready for the first booty call on the moon, Meshell Ndegeocello’s fifth album gravitates toward space and the space between. Comfort Woman is short on the earnest lyrics of earlier work, less words making way for more sex. There’s good sex in the bassline of “Body” and the acidic organ of “Love Song #2,” the album melting the themes of sensuality, spirituality, and astronomy together over simmering beats. Ndegeocello has always been about expanding the mind of her listeners through silken soul music. Whereas human rights used to be the topic of the day, however, now she’s freeing mankind by freeing its mind. “Come Smoke My Herb” is one such declaration, somewhat sophomoric except for brilliant production. In fact, the strength of Comfort Woman‘s first half quickly diminishes as the ideas run dry. By the time things reach the aimless “Liliquoi Moon,” not even guest guitar by Doyle Bramhall II elevates lazy songwriting. While Ndegeocello’s dub is comforting (“Fellowship”), the rest of the album feels more genuine in its psychedelic atmospheres; “Andromeda & the Milky Way” may be Comfort Woman‘s best moment. “Take me down to your river, I want to get free with you,” she sings in its chorus, delicately and deliciously painting a cosmic picture of interstellar love. This is where Ndegeocello’s mission becomes clear: Finding yourself and your heart in the stars would no doubt be a trip. (Meshell Ndegeocello plays La Zona Rosa Saturday, Nov. 1)
This article appears in Tom ‘Leatherface’ Delay.