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Much has been made--often unfairly--of Gray's awkwardness and lack of convention. But after several stabs at clumsy conformity, it finally feels like it's something she's embracing, and that's massively evident here.
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While not every track is a slam-dunk, Gray definitely recaptures her earlier promise.
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On The Sellout, her first album in three years, the production sands off the edges that have been key to Gray's appeal.
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Macy effortlessly combines the classic pop of Chic and Bill Withers with the sort of flamboyant, contemporary chart-frippery Mika probably thinks he's up to.
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If not a match for the brilliant yet underperforming 'Big', The Sellout certainly maintains high and admirably consistent standards.
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The problem with Macy Gray's comeback album is that, on it, she talks too much about her comeback album.
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Nothing here will dramatically alter the arc of Gray's career, but The Sellout yields several jams worth hearing.
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While there is plenty of soul in the sound, there is a lack of body in both delivery and melody.
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Despite the title, her new album is a softer sell--and more appealing--than 2007's Will.i.am-assisted Big.
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After listening to Gray's latest, The Sellout and going back to the music that had shifted through our slush pile unnoticed over the last decade or so, we're pretty stoked to find an artist making solid, soulful music beyond the confines of contemporary culture.
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The real problem with The Sellout is that it, in fact, wants to be a sellout but isn' a very good one. These blatant attempts to cash on famous names are weakest tracks here.
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Unfortunately, The Sellout doesn't just embrace the fluffier side of the Gray persona, it smothers it in an awkward, goofy hug.
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Easy as it is to root for the freaky underdog in any endeavor, Gray doesn't sound especially engaged here.
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Her scratchy charm gets her through some of the stompers, like "Kissed It" and "Still Hurts," and her old humor surfaces now and then. But the desperation rings all too true in "Help Me."
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The results of that effort are apparent, and they're not good. Gray wields one of the most naturally talented voices in R&B, but from the evidence here, she's not a songwriter.
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Q Magazine"Being herself" has resulted in her blandest record yet: it drifts from nondescript disco-pop and cloying R&B to woefully ersatz glam stomp. [July 2010, p. 132]
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UncutCutting edge, it's not, as if that was ever the point, but the title of the collection seems less like a wry confession, more like wishful thinking. [Jun 2010, p.88]