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Review: Monica - New Life [Album]

RCA | "This album of limp generic ballads does not cut it. Monica’s New Life is boring"

by NyW, April 15th, 2012 and has been Read 1369 times.
Last Edited by: Ffion Davies April 16th, 2012.

The intro to Monica‘s 7th album New Life is a phone call where she confides in Mary J Blige. Mary assures her that she is blessed and advises her to enjoy her new life. This sets the tone of the record: Monica is a new woman with a new life who won’t look back. I’m not sure if this was meant as light-hearted but they both sound scripted and unnatural. After several push backs and false starts the album was launched with ‘It all belongs to me’ a new duet with Brandy, 14 years after their smash hit Grammy winning single ‘The Boy Is Mine.’

Anticipation for this record was high but those who were hoping for ‘The Boy Is Mine’ part 2 will be disappointed. While the former saw the pair fighting over the same man, it all belongs to me sees them confronting their cheating partners and taking back their belongings. The duo sing “That MacBook belongs to me log off your Facebook it all belongs to me". The Rico Love penned track can be summed up best as underwhelming. The Facebook and MacBook mentions are an attempt at referencing the times but will only end up dating the track. Vocally Monica and Brandy sound as great as ever the latter’s husky deep tone complimenting Monica’s alto voice nicely but unfortunately the track just doesn’t go anywhere and has seen moderate success in the US reaching 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart.

LISTEN: 'It All Belongs to Me'

Monica’s best album is 2003’s 'After the Storm' where she explored different topics and tried her hand at rapping for the first time. Since then her output has gone downhill sounding hackneyed and tired. With this album titled new life I was expecting her to bring something different with this project but this is nothing we haven’t heard already from her.

This album plays like one long song and doesn’t stand out from her previous albums it seems as if she has been releasing the same album over and over again. There are some tracks worth listening to among this bland collection such as ‘Daddy’s Good Girl.’ Ignore the cringe-worthy title and lyrics like 'as long as I know you’ve got that love for me I promise to be g,o.o.d ‘ the track has a head nodding beat and Monica sounds great.

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'Until it’s gone' is also a highlight, something that is largely down to Missy Elliott’s production. It would be nice to see them team up again and revisit the sound of 'After The Storm' which Missy had a big part it and take it one step further. 'The Man Who Has Everything' has a slight reggae feel which is the closest thing we get to experimentation here. However it misses the mark coming across as half-hearted it seems Monica has lost direction.

As a happily married woman with two kids who claims to be embarking on a new life Monica seems to be talking about the same topics as her previous albums. There is not much difference between this and 2010’s ‘Still Standing’. The tracks blend into one another with nothing to really keep your attention. It’s a shame as there was real anticipation for this album along with a longing for a return to true RNB, fans were counting on Monica to really deliver but she did not. This album of limp generic ballads does not cut it. Monica’s New Life is boring.

It will be interesting to see what her friend Brandy serves up with her new album later in the year.

New Life is out now

Tracks worth listening to:

• Amazing
• Until its gone
• Daddy's good girl