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The WireJul 18, 2016Spalding has always been a prodigious talent, but it's by adopting the uninhibited persona of Emily that the 31 year old singer and bassist has found a truly distinctive voice. [Jun 2016, p.56]
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Apr 1, 2016Her fifth album is indeed one of the most alt-friendly jazz cycles you’ve ever heard, pivoting constantly on tight, proggy arrangements that evoke St. Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, and Incubus in their odd-angled crunch more than anything on Blue Note.
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Mar 11, 2016Esperanza Spalding’s new recording, Emily’s D+Evolution is an astonishing beauty, a set of a dozen songs that artfully and persuasively bridge genres.
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Mar 9, 2016In this current moment, when the us vs them of identity politics is at a sharp pitch, it's an enlightened view for an artist to put forth.
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Mar 7, 2016Emily’s D+Evolution is a tight package that should appeal to fans of Janelle Monáe and Joni Mitchell’s more jazzy endeavors, or anyone who is looking for some well crafted, ambiguous music, with elements of jazz, rock, and folk accompanied with some stellar singing.
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Mar 4, 2016It’s a scorching art-pop statement.
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Mar 4, 2016The lyrics are elusive at first, darting behind fast-moving songs and delivered in impressionistic, conversational bursts that recall the delivery of Joni Mitchell. But the fearless generosity behind them communicates itself loud and clear, and it's a spirit that animates the entire album. With it, Spalding has once again redefined an already singular career, dictating a vision entirely on her own terms.
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Mar 3, 2016While Spalding never sounds anything less than original on the album, part of the beauty here is in recognizing her inspirations and reveling in how she has made them her own.
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Mar 3, 2016Her new album builds on that idea [multi-hyphenate] in a thrilling way, taking the experimental ideals that she learned as a student of jazz into new directions--heady funk, tongue-twisting soul, sparsely arranged confessional --that consistently surprise.
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Mar 3, 2016Spalding’s voice has never sounded so assured in its dizzying ascents from mid-range murmurs to falsetto swoops. Her singing variously suggests Kate Bush, Janelle Monae or even a female Jack Bruce with a 21st-century Cream.
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UncutMar 2, 2016The varied works of this Portland-born bassist and singer have suggested a giant talent that spills out of jazz into Brazil, R&B, music theatre and even thrash metal. This semi-autobiographical concept album pushes her deep into art-rock territory. [Apr 2016, p.79]
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Mar 2, 2016There are moments here where she falls into a nice pocket that the listener might wish she'd remain in for a little while longer.
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Mar 2, 2016The album is an artistic statement album with a capital "A," complete with an alter ego and theatrical flourishes that hint toward something of a funk-rock opera about death, spirituality and personal identity.
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Mar 2, 2016She still favors too many Wayne Shorterish chord progressions to truly suit the easily impressed. It’s precisely when she stretches--as on “Rest in Pleasure,” which has a melody you wouldn’t wish on a less acrobatic singer--that Ms. Spalding seems most ingenuous and unbound.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 38 out of 45
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Mixed: 3 out of 45
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Negative: 4 out of 45
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Aug 27, 2016
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Apr 4, 2016
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Mar 5, 2016