India.Aire - Worthy

India.Arie
Worthy
2019
Spotify

I remember when India.Arie broke onto the seen with her hit "Video". It was a song about self empowerment and realizing you don't need to be like everyone else to find happiness in this world. She locked in with the Neo-Soul movement with acts like The Roots, John Legend and Cody Chestnut. The genre flashed out almost as quickly as it appeared but Arie continued to make music. Her most recent releases have received critical acclaim, but failed to infuse her back into the mainstream. She has over 20 Grammy nominations and four wins, all the way back to 2003 and as recently as last year. She finds this middle ground that critics love between spoken word poetry and music. Her songwriting is often direct and no frills, encapsulating these ideas in delicate little songs. This directness comes out in a number of ways but one of the most notable is the simple listing of things. "Steady Love" a love letter to man she loves comes with the line: "He's a good father, he's a good cook He loves his basketball and he loves a good book I'll tell you how I know he's the perfect one for me 'Cause he's a warrior in the streets, but he's a king in the sheets". They idea of wanting to praise your partner is fine, but when it is this on the nose it feels clunky and awkward. You find this a lot on this record where Arie goes for the most basic rhyme rather than trying to turn a phrase. It makes the music feel somewhat plain.

There are times when this album is so acoustic singer songwriterish that it drives you nuts. "Crazy" has this finger picking opening, that you've heard at every coffee shop in the universe. There is also quite a bit of grandstanding on this album that takes the politically charged and makes it feel watered down. Arie's points are usually the first you would arrive at, and tend to miss the grander picture at play. The times she sings about love works because it's a matter of the heart, when she tries to get to factual like on "What If" it sounds like someone trying to write their first song. "A little love for your soul, will make you feel whole" is a nice sentiment, but on "Hour of Love" it just sounds extremely basic. "That Magic" also allows us to peek just a bit to far behind the curtain of the man Arie is in to. It sounds like she is trying to sing this guy's praises, but it ends up feeling like someone with an unrequited crush. There are moments to like, but also a whole lot to scratch your head about when you are listening to this record. The sublime outweighs the cringe, but only just barely.

5.5 out of 10