Miguel's new album is available June 29th. This is his 3rd album, with his last album coming out in October 2012. Kaleidoscope Dream was written when Miguel was living in New York, and Wildheart was written when Miguel was in California. This album has a huge California vibe with a lot of songs referencing the Golden State. This one is supposed to be different than the albums he's released. This is the first album Miguel has released that did not have a title track. I think the theme for this album is space, or he's carrying fantasy over from his last 2 albums.
A BEAUTIFUL EXIT
Miguel was looking for a rock vibe for this album, and this is it. This is coming from someone that can't stand rock music anymore, but I can listen to this song and enjoy it, and it's not because it's Miguel. This song reminds me a lot of "Arch & Point" from Kaleidoscope Dream. The song is about living life to the fullest and whichever way you die will be a great exit for your life because you died enjoying yourself.
RATING: 8/10
DEAL
"Deal" sounds very much like a Prince song, but not really because it still has Miguel's styling. The song sounds like he's making a deal with someone but they haven't agreed or fully committed to it yet. Miguel is very convincing in this song and I would definitely sign on that deal immediately if I was in this person's shoes because anything Miguel does is a very good idea since he's hot. The song breaks apart at the end which is cool and I haven't heard that before.
RATING: 8/10
THE VALLEY
"The Valley" is a very dark song about sex. Miguel's voice overpowers this song and you can hear everything he's saying very clearly. The song would still be good if there was no music in the background because everything Miguel writes is hot and has a rhythm. The 'Valley" Miguel is referencing to is about the porn industry in California.
RATING: 7/10
COFFEE
"Coffee" is this album's breakthrough single. It was released in December along with "NWA" and "Hollywood Dreams" but the song wasn't complete. I said it was the 2nd best song out of the 3 Miguel released but now that it's complete it sounds a lot better. The song is about sex and that is what coffee is referred to, but you can not know that and still think the song is about waking up next to your lover and having coffee in the morning. The video for this song came out last Tuesday and it's so hot and it's exactly what I would expect from Miguel.
RATING: 10/10
NWA
This song features Kurupt from Tha Dogg Pound. This song has a different feel than most songs on the album, but it's very similar to "Destinado A Morir" with the lyrics. Miguel is saying this girl wants a bad boy with style, with attitude. This was released in December along with "Coffee" and "Hollywood Dreams."
RATING: 7/10
WAVES
"Waves" is a really good song, very upbeat and talks about exactly what you think it would be about, waves. It's obviously about sex, but if a really naive person heard it they would think it's about surfing. Miguel is taking a rock approach to his album, and this song is a good example of that. This song is one of my favorites on the album.
RATING: 10/10
WHAT'S NORMAL ANYWAY
"What's Normal Anyway" talks about how how he never fit in with any group when he was younger, being too poor or not black or white, just always being separated, or the minority of everything. Miguel is saying he basically did his own thing and a lot of people thought it was "weird." This song feels like it's the twin to "Candles In The Sun."
RATING: 8/10
HOLLYWOOD DREAMS
"Hollywood Dreams" was released back in December on his 3 song EP. I felt this was the best one out of the 3 tracks because "Coffee" was not complete yet and this one was. The song matches the California vibe Miguel had for the album, talking about dreams that will never get achieved, but if you really try hard you can succeed and have it all. (Maybe referring to himself?)
RATING: 10/10
...goingtohell
There isn't much to this song, Miguel just keeps saying "we're going to hell" repeatedly, followed by "save me I'm a sinner." This sounds like something I would expect from Miguel. His voice is really hot in the song like it is in every song but Miguel talking about Hell and the devil just sounds extra hot.
RATING: 7/10
FLESH
This is another passionate song, Miguel saying he's "a slave to your flesh," but it can go both ways and mean someone is addicted to tattoos. We all know it's about sex because that is Miguel's favorite thing in the world because he's hot. Halfway through the song Miguel's voice stops being so soft and it gets rough and loud and hot. This song sounds scary but it's a good scary because it's by Miguel and nothing can be wrong.
RATING: 7/10
LEAVES
"Leaves" talks about something suddenly happening, but didn't see it coming because the leaves never changed. It sounds like Miguel is comparing a girl to California's weather, where the season never changes from being bright and sunny, but the girl left him just like the weather would when the seasons change from summer to autumn. I can see this becoming a single.
RATING: 9/10
FACE THE SUN
"Face The Sun" is the best song on this album. Miguel wrote the song for his girlfriend, Nazinin, saying how he isn't perfect (even though he is) but he'll always be there for her and so will she regardless of his flaws. I saw that the length of this song was close to 5 minutes and thought it would be really drawn out but it's not. Miguel's voice lights up the song. Lenny Kravitz guests on guitar. This song is really hot.
RATING: 10/10
GFG
"GFG," abbreviated for "Good Fucking Girl," has a repetitive beat, and repetitive lyrics, is talking about how 'bad' a girl is, meaning how down the girl is for doing anything. Miguel likes this type of girl, thinking this is hot.
RATING: 7/10
DESTINADO A MORIR
"Destinado A Morir," which translates to "Destined to Die," is nearly a minute and a half long "interlewd" where he's listing 'bad' things but saying it's alright to be these things because we're all going to die anyway.
RATING: 7/10
SIMPLE THINGS
"Simple Things" was released in February 2014 for the HBO series Girls soundtrack, and a video was released then too. The track was originally "Simplethings.") Miguel explains how he wants a girl with a personality like his, not a rich girl or a movie star or a model. This song is so real and hot and when I first heard it I noticed the line, "a free spirit and a wild heart" and that stuck out to me for a long time. Back in December when he released his EP on SoundCloud, there was a picture of knuckles tattooed "WILD" and I thought possibly the album would be called Wildheart because of the line in "Simple Things." I was right. This is one of his best songs he's ever released and I was surprised when it wasn't originally on the album track list. Miguel rerecorded the song, (without changing the vocals) and made the bass more noticeable. It sounds a lot better but I have no preference over the other, though. Miguel's voice in this song overpowers the entire song.
RATING: 10/10
DAMNED
This song has a deep beat; Miguel talking about being punished for his sins, which are all obvious, but saying it's all worth it; "I'm damned for loving you." There's not much to this song because everything is being repeated.
RATING: 6/10
I am not surprised with this album because this exactly what I would expect from Miguel; not one bad song.
ALBUM RATING: 10/10
Good job, Miguel
