- Label
- Universal
- Release date
- 14th April 2008
- Genre
- R&B
- Buy this album
- Order CD
R&B megastar returns in fine voice with strong collaborators
Mariah Carey has, over the past decade and a half, carved herself a very deep niche in R&B – her image, voice, and influence are all as integral a part of the scene as Usher's white trousers or P. Diddy's fur coats. Listeners know what to expect from a Mariah Carey album, too, and it's this which has found her such a broad fanbase. On E=MC² the focus is on the dancefloor, with emphasis taken away from the slightly camp soul stylings or saccharine balladry of her previous works. Her distinctive vocal delivery – flitting, as it does, between mellow crooning and bat-like chirping – is still in place, but the beats and basslines are chunkier than usual.
The excellent lead single Touch My Body is a misleading introduction to this collection of songs, highlights of which – such as Cruise Control, the collaboration with Damian Marley, or her duet with T-Pain on the menacingly-basslined and ballsy party anthem Migrate – can compete with any other hip hop/R&B releases put out so far this year. While her lyrical themes tend never to stray too far from her usual staples (I'm a fantastic girlfriend/I have a formidable body/I love you/Me and my friends have a lot of fun in the VIP sections of clubs) the words play second fiddle to execution and polish – this is an entertaining and effortlessly slick release.
More to try: Mary J. Blige: Growing Pains Missy Elliot: Supa Dupa Fly
