Wildheart
by Miguel
  • Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Jun 29, 2015
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
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  1. The Telegraph (UK)
    Jun 30, 2015
    100
    A record with moments of pure, solar heat.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Jun 30, 2015
    91
    Miguel recognizes both the romance and the risk embedded in the City of Angels, a clear-eyed balance that makes Wildheart as bracing as a plunge into the Pacific.
  3. HipHopDX
    Jul 15, 2015
    90
    On Wildheart, Miguel excels in embodying the name of the album by being an artist both making a progressive album, but also uncovering more knowledge of self in the process, too.
  5. Boston Globe
    Jun 30, 2015
    90
    If there are no obvious radio-ready hits on par with “Adorn,” his massive hit from 2012’s “Kaleidoscope Dream,” there is something more potent in their place: a stone-cold classic not tethered to time, genre, or expectations.
  6. Exclaim
    Jun 30, 2015
    90
    Wildheart has its mushy spot (see the superfluous "Destinado a Morir"), but on the whole, it stands as one of the year's standout efforts.
  7. Slant Magazine
    Jun 26, 2015
    90
    D'Angelo may have struck a new gold standard for intellectual R&B, and even recorded a more traditionally cohesive and satisfying album, but Miguel's cocktail of furious angst, pained perplexity, and damaged tenderness is just as relevant, acknowledging the complicated realities of modern sexuality while pushing to expand its horizons.
  8. Pitchfork
    Jul 1, 2015
    89
    Focusing on Wildheart's overt eroticism is one way of listening, but it's impossible to overlook just how seriously he's taking craft.
  9. Magnet
    Aug 12, 2015
    85
    Its palette remains expansive. [No. 123, p.61]
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  10. The Line of Best Fit
    Jun 30, 2015
    85
    Miguel writes nothing but memorable melodies and his songwriting is the engine that makes Wildheart all work, that takes his affinity for funk, psychedelia and Prince, and turns them an album that feels totally of the moment.
  11. Pretty Much Amazing
    Jun 30, 2015
    83
    Wildheart is his finest and most stubborn statement yet.
  12. Q Magazine
    Jul 30, 2015
    80
    The psychedelic haze of second LP Kaleidoscope Dream us toned down, replaced by a quixotic take on the R&B and rock landscape that, more than anything, stakes a claim for otherness. [Sep 2015, p.113]
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  13. musicOMH.com
    Jul 9, 2015
    80
    Wildheart is a beautiful album from one of the most exciting and talented artists in music right now.
  14. Clash Music
    Jul 7, 2015
    80
    The jury's out on whether Miguel's offerings as a whole are indeed superior to Ocean's, for now he should be content that they share a space at the pinnacle of genre-defining pop music.
  15. The New York Times
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    He doesn’t always try to play the good guy or the heartthrob, either. The music, meanwhile, places sinuous tunes, pushy guitars and lush vocals against uneasy backdrops--seductive, but never without second thoughts.
  16. Rolling Stone
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    Wildheart is an even bolder move: an intoxicating master class in electro-porn R&B--the coin of the modern genre--that's also a soul-searching critique of same.
  17. Spin
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    It’s not quite as satisfying as Kaleidoscope Dream, but it expands that album’s palette, pushing Miguel into further depths without submerging him in the squalor.
  18. The Observer (UK)
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    Densely layered and richly rewarding, Wildheart is further evidence that Miguel suits his outsider status.
  19. AllMusic
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    While the reduction in lucid hooks and the uptick in wince-inducing lyrics diminish the album's appeal, the charms are hard to repel.
  20. NOW Magazine
    Jun 25, 2015
    80
    His third--and best--album moves farther away from beat-oriented R&B toward music that's heavy guitars, sex and hazy Cali vibes.
  21. The Guardian
    Jun 25, 2015
    80
    Wildheart mints a signature musical style; moreover, it’s a signature musical style that doesn’t sound much like anyone else.
  22. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jun 23, 2015
    80
    There’s an occasional tendency for the guitars to spill into the clunky arena rock territory preferred by Lenny Kravitz--who shreds on ‘Face The Sun’ but Wildheart impresses nonetheless.
  23. The 405
    Jul 9, 2015
    75
    Wildheart is a leap in the right direction but Miguel hasn't shed off all of pop's restrictive trappings just yet.
  24. Consequence
    Jun 30, 2015
    75
    Even with his sexy talk sometimes failing as foreplay, Wildheart is a magnificent, swirling epic of longing, love, and lust.
  25. The A.V. Club
    Jun 30, 2015
    75
    Wildheart sees Miguel expanding and refining his sound, and while not every experiment hits its mark, the result is an ambitious and moving album.
  26. Billboard.com
    Jun 23, 2015
    70
    There's nothing on Wildheart to make one lose faith in Miguel's promise as a major creative and popular force of the decade, but neither is there enough to feel like he has satisfied his warring sides. Instead, it's a case of his sense of space still sharpening, and the hope for his full emergence, repping for a generation that won't accept outdated double binds, yet to come.

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Best Album of 2015
78
#78 Most Discussed Album of 2015
89
#89 Most Shared Album of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 141 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 127 out of 141
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 141
  3. Negative: 9 out of 141
  1. rmorris110489
    Jun 29, 2015
    10
    Short Review: Wildheart is amazing and once again proves that Miguel knows how to create great music. Miguel’s confidence shines through andShort Review: Wildheart is amazing and once again proves that Miguel knows how to create great music. Miguel’s confidence shines through and Wildheart pushes Miguel's further into his own lane as a R&B maverick. My Personal Favorites: The Valley, Waves, …goingtohell, Coffee, and Destinado A Morir. Rating:10/10

    Long Review: I should start this review by saying that I believe Kaleidoscope Dream is one of the best R&B albums of the last decade. It is also important to note that Kaleidoscope Dream is one of my favorite albums of all time. This should paint how unrealistic my expectations were going into Wildheart. I was 100% expecting Miguel to float down from heaven and sing long lost chapters of the Holy Bible. In other words, I thought Miguel was about to change my life.

    My expectations were tempered after his EP and a few singles. Miguel was still giving me the music equivalent of silk sheets with Coffee and Simple Things, but both songs felt like lateral steps from Kaleidoscope Dream.

    After Wildheart dropped I knew he had done it again. *Warning Rant Coming*: R&B wasn’t always about vapid DJ Mustard style bangers (sorry Chris Brown) or one dimensional baby making music (sorry R. Kelly). On the other hand truly visionary albums like Kendrick’s “TPAB”, Lupe’s “Tetsuo & Youth”, and D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah” are marred by their abrasiveness. It seems to me like a lot of the recently critically praised albums are somewhat hard to listen to. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” proves that socially conscience urban music does not have to be abrasive. Miguel is not Marvin Gaye just yet, but he does his best to give me sophisticated beauty on Wildheart. *Rant Over*

    The first words we hear from Miguel are: “Don't ever sell yourself short, sell your acceptance." This sets up listeners perfectly for what is to come. Miguel takes us on a tour through Cali from his and only his eyes.

    Miguel takes us through atypical R&B topics like growing up mixed race (What’s Normal Anyway) and Tinseltown delusion (Hollywood Dreams), but what sets this album apart is his take on typical topics. Fame, Sex, Drugs, and Money are all handled on this album, but are all done in Miguel’s unique style. Listen to “The Valley” for an example. On the surface this is just a slow jam about sex. While this is indeed a slow jam, and is for sure about sex, there is more at play. The lyrics are dirty. The sex is not romantic. It’s formulaic. It’s uncomfortable. It’s raw. It's San Fernando in all of its porn industry glory. This takes a raunchy song and gives it just a little something more.

    Maybe I am overthinking this album. Maybe I am not putting enough thought into it. My advice is to buy this and form your own opinion. I support Miguel because this is talent that doesn’t get support in the music industry every day. I even bought a physical CD, so you know the admiration is real. Rating:10/10    … Full Review »
  2. rubenseaton
    Jul 10, 2015
    5
    The sexy songs aren't sexy. The poppy songs aren't poppy. The vocals aren't interesting and the instrumentals are hollow. Not a veryThe sexy songs aren't sexy. The poppy songs aren't poppy. The vocals aren't interesting and the instrumentals are hollow. Not a very convincing statement for the man who said he was making better music than Frank Ocean...… Full Review »
  3. Eniall8or
    Jun 30, 2015
    9
    Miguel is pushing the genre of R&B to a new place.His 2012 record Kaleidoscope Dream was a very good record but I feel as though this recordMiguel is pushing the genre of R&B to a new place.His 2012 record Kaleidoscope Dream was a very good record but I feel as though this record represents real progression for Miguel.… Full Review »
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