It's bad enough that Michelle Williams' album 'Unexpected' found its way on the big bad Net this week. Never mind that we have yet another SEVEN weeks to go before its official release date (Oct 7th). Most of the songs actually leaked MONTHS in advance and yet her label ended up telling her "your album is getting pushed back a couple of months" knowing full well that more than half of it was already out. It's no wonder Michelle felt the need to reference Solange's song 'Fuck The Industry' in her video blog to emphasise exactly how she felt about the pushback. If someone poorly managed my project like this, I'd definitely put it in writing. Her lead single, 'We Break The Dawn' was heard months before her original release date so they had all the time in the world to prepare. Can someone tell me how these songs end up leaking against the wishes of the artist because someone has to be held accountable at least? Anyway, having heard the album in full, is Michelle's 'Unexpected' worth purchasing? That's the real question at hand. Find out....'Unexpected' was produced by The Heavyweights, Rico Love, Soulshock & Karlin, Stargate, Jim Jonsin, Alex Da Kid and few other lesser unknown producers. Although I'm not in love with the album, 'Unexpected' has a nice touch of synth-pop energy and upbeat dance-floor anthems. After the intro, the first song present is 'Hello Heartbreak'; a pop song with a softcore techno beat. The production is pretty standard but the following track 'We Break The Dawn' hits out at you much more with its superb synth-pop bass-heavy, dance-floor influence. And it's easily identifiable as to why the song was chosen as lead single instead of the contemporary R&B-pop sounding 'Stop This Car' (Stargate) which to me was not as cutting edge. One song I didn't care for in particular was 'Lucky Girl' which is dance-floor filler at best whilst 'The Greatest' is a syrupy pop ballad that appears to have marching band drums and a pleasant electrical guitar to draw the song to its conclusion.
'Til The End Of The World' is an edgy uptempo synth-pop cut whereas 'Private Party' has an electrofied dance/pop beat. Private Party is definitely the business and I've had this song on repeat on several occasions. 'Hungover' glistens with it's electro-pop/rock production and 'We Break The Dawn Part II' has more Urban flare which features Flo Rida. Presumably, this remix was recorded so that the song could get some airplay on BET. But is really shitty in comparison to the original. Despite its dark synth grooves I wasn't particularly keen on the song 'Unexpected'. But 'Thank U' is a midtempo ballad which is more subdued and gives a nice acoustically-driven touch to the album. Another slow cut is 'Too Young For Love' which is pretty bubblegum and not really cohesive with the album's glossy electro-pop package. And Michelle anchors the songs with her impressive emotive vocal work, ensuring that her voice is in tone with her chosen musical style. That said, 'Unexpected' is a solid piece of craft and there would have been no reason why the album should not have sold provided that her project was handled much better with top-of-the-range marketing and promotion.
Rating: 3/5
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