“You keep breaking me down,” a falsetto says before continuing with a short series of mostly incoherent shrieks. It’s a classic Prince moment reminiscent of his livelier Purple Rain days. It’s also the only one this Art project has to offer. There’s some nice Kokane-like harmonies happening on Way Back Home and the main melody of the music is a charm, but nothing else even comes close to the twenty-something-second peak of The Breakdown, the full song of which is technically flawed with what sounds like clipping.
Sticky Like Glue from 2010 was (is) one of my favorite Prince songs. There’s no such thing on this 2014 follow-up, which features Lianne La Havas; a girl who, apparently by mere chance, looks like she could be Prince’s daughter; almost to the point of wearing out her welcome. Prince still has a knack for contemporary funk, yes, but it seems most of his good songs are far behind him. Official age? 56 years. Perhaps it’s time to call it quits before he tarnishes his legacy, or at least his discography, more than it already is.
my rating : 3 of 5
2014