Fergie - Double Dutchess

Fergie
Double Dutchess
2017
Spotify

It may shock you but this is only Fergie's second solo album release. Having a number of hits with The Black Eyed Peas and seemingly on every tabloid front cover for years means that Fergie may have never left the conversation even though she somewhat stopped making music. Double Dutchess opens with "Hungry" a track with massive trap production and featuring Rick Ross to boot. It pulls Fergie's sound violently into 2017 and seeks to prove that she is still "hungry" but from the start the posture doesn't fit. This is Fergie Ferg, the woman who was so aggressively pop back in the early 2000s so the sound just never fits. "You Already Know" suffers a similar fate with an old beat trying to be modern and the Nicki Minaj feature feeling dated as hell. It also is six minutes long on the album version trying to portray this turnt up party, but god it feels so forced. There may have been a very brief time where it seemed like Fergie had something to say in terms of hip hop but those days have long since passed. The album also jerks you from attempt after attempt at something fresh like "Just Like You" which falls so incredibly flat. "A Little Work" has the sentiment and even says "We're all just a little broken/ and could use a little work" clearly going for the "we're working on it" crowd but none of this feels personal at all, it's just what the writers of these songs had on their minds at the times.

If you're heart really wasn't into the ballads you would think that you would double down on the fun tracks, but she really doesn't. "Life Goes On" had the potential to be a fun tropical house inspired track but it gets mired in loneliness a vague allusions to her recent divorce. "M.I.L.F. $" might be getting some major spins around Orange County but it feels so out of touch with everything else. "Save It Til Morning" is also so overly emotional and completely on the nose. The only audience I can think of for this album is die hard Fergie fans who have been clamoring for something new but feel like they are a little to hip to listen to old Fergie. Double Dutchess just falls totally flat and drags so hard towards the end you keep praying for some sweet relief. The only bright spot is the DJ Mustard produced "L.A.LOVE (la la)" which has a great beat but the chorus is damn near baby talk it is so unintelligible. The album ends with "Love is Blind" and "Love is Pain" with the first being a reggae inspired snooze which goes on and on and on for over five minutes. The second starts as a solo guitar slow jam, then its dead air, then its an album shoutout, then its jazzy... like seriously what the hell were they thinking? It's a pitiful ending to a pitiful record completely out of touch. Just say no.

2.0 out of 10