Miguel
Caos
BY STORM/RCA
Maybe it’s because he shares his mother’s African-American heritage with his father’s Mexican-American ancestry, or maybe it’s because he’s mixed up his diet of platinum-selling R&B and hip-hop albums with the sounds of his Transcendental Meditation routines. For one reason or another, Miguel’s name usually winds up unconnected to other, more conventional alt-R&B greats within the 21st century. That’s a shame, as the singer-producer has already managed three micro-classics of the post-neo-soul continuum, with his newest album Caos following in hot pursuit.
Classic, yes, and still contagious. One of Caos’s singles, the hedonist-hopping “RIP,” has a musky vibe and a deep, curvaceous groove exceptional for earbuds and dancefloors alike. The calm at the center of his “Angel’s Song” lullaby could pass for one of Miguel’s self-healing tracks at their most tender. But let’s also not overlook the fact that Caos additionally offers many sonic challenges to his listeners’ experience as he embraces existential lyrical concepts, over-crowded emotional tumult, and questions of identity, broad and specific—to say nothing of the record’s dusky jazz-electro sound, industrial ambience, and grouchy fuzzed guitars—all in a manner that would impress wordsmiths/avant-soul manipulators such as Bilal and Kendrick Lamar.
An ultra buggy “El Pleito” stands toe-to-toe with the incendiary visions and scalding soundtracks heard within prior album cuts “The Killing” and “Triggered.” And who else but Miguel in a bad mood such as this could turn a celebratory visit from guest star George Clinton into a warning sign on closer “Comma/Karma”?
