Neil Spencer
CD OFTHEWEEK
Screaming out of nowhere, or rather Harlem, comes 20-year-old Kelis with an early claim to single of the year in Caught out There, better known as I Hate You So Much Right Now, a pounding tale of female revenge. Her debut album, Kaleidoscope (Virgin), suggests there’s more to Kelis than a snappy smash hit. At base it’s a polished example of modern R&B, overseen by the chic production crew, known as the Neptunes, and predictably full of muscular rhythms and no small amount of gasping.
What lifts its finer moments from the ordinary are firstly Kelis’s supple vocals, which sound romantic even when she’s angry, and which on Get Along with You comes across as superior Madonna.
Intermittently there are more experimental flavours; the Eastern-hued Mafia and joits of smutty cosmic funk on Mars and Roller Rink. Kaleidoscope is no stylistic trailblazer, but serves convincing notice of a talent surely set for future glories.