Brandy – Human
Epic
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In the four years since her last release,Afrodisiac, Brandy has had more than her fair share of troubles. A broken engagement, a label change, dropped her manager, and most notoriously, was involved in a car accident that left a woman dead.
With all of those things on her mind, it’s no surprise that Human winds up being the most dead-serious album of the singer’s 15-year career. That doesn’t mean that it’s a melancholy record, there’s actually quite an uplifting core to most of the songs here; it just means that she doesn’t bother to force a few insincere party cuts into the mix solely to appease the listener. This is a thoughtful album, and it’s obvious the singer doesn’t care if you want to dance—this album is about affirmation.
“Warm It Up (With Love)” is an anthem brimming with optimism, and the adult contemporary ballads “Human” and “Fall” work because of Brandy’s sincerity, though, lyrically, they can be a bit mawkish. After four years of turmoil, Brandy has re-emerged older and wiser; and though Human may fall a little short of what many fans may have wanted to hear, its an important step in the singer’s continued evolution.
–dusty culpepper
