Wildheart (album)

For the comics character, see Wild Child (comics).
Wildheart
Studio album by Miguel
Released June 29, 2015
Genre
Length 46:25
Label
Producer
Miguel chronology
Kaleidoscope Dream
(2012)		 Wildheart
(2015)
Singles from Wildheart
  1. "Coffee"
    Released: May 4, 2015

Wildheart is the third studio album by American R&B recording artist Miguel. He produced the album with Benny Cassette, Cashmere Cat, Benny Blanco, and Salaam Remi, among others, while collaborating with fellow singer Lenny Kravitz and rapper Kurupt on certain songs. The record found Miguel departing further from modern R&B with rock styles such as psychedelic and new wave, as well as lyrical themes that explored morality, normalcy, and sexuality.

It was released on June 29, 2015, by RCA Records and ByStorm Entertainment. Wildheart charted at number two on the Billboard 200 while selling 40,500 copies in its first week. It was a widespread critical success and earned Miguel two Grammy Award nominations, including one in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Background

In an interview with MTV, RCA Records executive Mark Pitts discussed Miguel's recording of Wildheart. "He's more confident, and it’s going to show in the music, his look and in the videos", Pitts said. "Miguel is ready to push the button. His first album was about trials and tribulations. The second was OK, we’re here; I wasn’t bugging. And now it’s here we go. He wants people to understand who he is. He’s tired of people asking who are you, what’s that, 'do you like girls?' He tells me, 'I want everyone to know I am wild, funny, edgy and love women. I need this album to connect'".[1]

Music and lyrics

"Throughout [Wildheart], Miguel comes off as a seeker lost in a world where dreams, religion, sex and art are tangled up with their own dark, addictive mirror images."

—Rolling Stone[2]

According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, Wildheart's music was defined less by melody than by the presence of "grinding guitars and mechanical beats", played in the style of contemporary R&B and new wave rock.[3] Sheldon Pearce from Consequence of Sound said the album's neo soul music ranged from "psychedelic to interstellar" sounds while defying the "traditional sensibilities in modern R&B".[4]

According to journalist Robert Christgau, Wildheart shared more with rock music's recurring theme of struggles with normalcy and human contradiction than it did with R&B's "sin-versus-salvation struggles".[5] Jon Pareles from The New York Times believed the alluring but amoral environment of California was a recurring setting throughout the record, which explored Miguel's "clashing impulses further" than Kaleidoscope Dream (2012), "toward love and death, raunch and exaltation, doubt and confidence, salvation and damnation, cynicism and hope";[6] "gonna die young" was written about the dangers of leading a risky lifestyle, while "...goingtohell" explored themes of human mortality and romance. Sex-themed songs ranged from the wholesome narrative of "coffee" to the pornographic "the valley",[5] which made reference to the San Fernando Valley's adult entertainment industry.[6] According to Pareles, the rock ballad "what's normal anyway" served as the crux of Wildheart, as it found Miguel contemplating his biracial heritage and feeling of rootlessness,[6] while Christgau surmised that the song's "straightforwardly confused" lyrics properly outlined Miguel's character: "He is normal—because he ain't."[5]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[7]
Metacritic84/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubB[9]
The Daily Telegraph[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Irish Times[12]
NME8/10[13]
Pitchfork8.9/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Spin8/10[16]
ViceA−[5]

In 2014, Miguel released an extended play, titled Wild, in promotion of Wildheart, featuring the songs "NWA", "Hollywood Dreams", and "Coffee".[17] The lead single from the album was a re-worked version of the EP's track "Coffee", renamed as "Coffee (Fucking)", featuring guest vocals from American rapper Wale;[18] it was released on May 4, 2015.[19] Wildheart was released on June 29 by RCA Records and ByStorm Entertainment.[20] In its first week, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold 40,500 copies in the United States.[21]

Wildheart received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 27 reviews.[8] Will Hermes from Rolling Stone found it "even bolder" sonically than Kaleidoscope Dream,[15] and Q deemed Miguel's take on R&B and rock "quixotic".[22] In Entertainment Weekly, Kyle Anderson called Miguel's lyrics about romance and thrill in Los Angeles both exciting and balanced,[23] while Pitchfork's Anupa Mistry felt he had improved his songwriting with a sex-positive perspective that was distinct from the lustfulness of most other R&B music: "Languorous and detailed, it transcends the genre's established narratives with a focus on pleasure and partnership instead of one-sided pursuit".[14] Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine compared it to D'Angelo's socially conscious album Black Messiah (2014), finding Wildheart to be "just as relevant, acknowledging the complicated realities of modern sexuality while pushing to expand its horizons".[24] In a less enthusiastic review, NME critic Ben Cardew lamented some of the guitar elements, writing that they occasionally sounded heavy handed in the manner of arena rock.[13] Kyle Fowle from The A.V. Club deemed "Face the Sun" a failed attempt at rock and "What's Normal Anyway" too blunt of a "self-love message" amidst the more subtle songs,[9] while Spin's Andrew Unterberger found the album somewhat inferior to Kaleidoscope Dream, even though he said it broadened that record's musical variety.[16]

At the end of 2015, Wildheart was named the year's best album by Time magazine.[25] On other year-end lists, it was ranked 11th best by The Guardian,[26] eighth best by Pitchfork,[27] and 28th best by Rolling Stone, who said it was both one of 2015's best R&B and psychedelic rock albums.[2] Wildheart was also nominated for the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album, while "Coffee" was nominated in the category of Best R&B Song.[28]

Track listing

Wildheart — Standard version[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)[30]Length
1."a beautiful exit"  
3:04
2."DEAL"  
4:17
3."the valley"  
  • Pimentel
  • Brian Warfield
  • Maclean Robinson
  • Miguel
  • Fisticuffs
3:05
4."coffee"  
Miguel4:46
5."NWA" (featuring Kurupt)
3:34
6."waves"  
  • Pimentel
  • Perez
  • Miguel
  • Happy Perez
3:22
7."what's normal anyway"  
  • Pimentel
  • Felder
  • Mostyn
  • Colson
  • Oakwud
  • Ace
  • Flippa
3:13
8."Hollywood Dreams"  
  • Pimentel
  • Warfield
  • Robinson
  • Miguel
  • Fisticuffs
3:16
9."...goingtohell"  
4:04
10."FLESH"  
  • Miguel
  • Paul
  • Saadiq[a]
4:29
11."leaves"  
  • Oakwud
  • Ace
  • Pop Wansel
  • Flippa
3:22
12."face the sun" (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
Remi4:32
Total length:46:25
Wildheart — Deluxe version (bonus tracks)[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."gfg"  
  • Pimentel
  • Brook Davis
  • Brianna Cartwright
  • Miguel
  • Brook D'Leau[a]
3:39
14."destinado a morir"  PimentelMiguel3:01
15."Simple Things"  
  • Pimentel
  • Davis
  • Miguel
  • D'Leau
3:16
16."damned"  
  • Pimentel
  • Kelly
  • DeCaro
  • Silverstein
  • Rae
Miguel3:26
Total length:59:47
Notes

Personnel

Credits are adapted from AllMusic.[32]

  • Wayne Barrow – associate producer
  • Jasmine Benjamin – vocals
  • Benny Blanco – producer
  • Tanisha Broadwater – production coordination
  • Cashmere Cat – producer
  • Benny Cassette – producer
  • Ronald "Flippa" Colson – producer
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Jack Davey – vocals
  • Dru DeCaro – guitar
  • Gleyder "Gee" Disla – engineer
  • Brook D'Leau – programming, vocals
  • Fisticuffs – engineer, producer
  • Chris Galland – mixing assistant
  • Erwin Gorostiza – creative director
  • Katya Elise Henry – model
  • R.J. Kelly – drums
  • Lenny Kravitz – featured artist, guitar
  • Kurupt – featured artist
  • Nazanin Mandi – vocals
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing

  • Jennifer Martinez – model
  • Donnie Meadows – production coordination
  • Miguel – A&R, drum programming, engineer, executive producer, guitar, primary artist, producer
  • Steve Mostyn – producer
  • Nonchanlant Savant – vocals
  • Oakwud – producer
  • A. K. Paul – producer
  • Happy Perez – producer
  • Willo Perron – creative director
  • Mark Pitts – A&R, executive producer
  • Christian Plata – engineer, mixing
  • Zac Rae – keyboards
  • Salaam Remi – arranger, bass, drums, keyboards, producer
  • Brian Roettinger – art direction
  • Steve Rusch – engineer
  • Raphael Saadiq – bass, guitar, piano, producer, vibraphone
  • Daniel Sannwald – photography
  • Ike Schultz – mixing assistant
  • Jayme Silverstein – bass
  • Andrew "Pop" Wansel – producer

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 8
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 10
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[35] 88
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[36] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 93
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 31
US Billboard 200[39] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] 2

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Miguel's New Album Tentatively Called Wild Heart | News". Pitchfork. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  2. 1 2 "Miguel, 'Wildheart' - 50 Best Albums of 2015". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Kellman, Andy. "Wildheart – Miguel". AllMusic. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (June 29, 2015). "Miguel – Wildheart". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Christgau, Robert (August 14, 2015). "Welcome to Expert Witness, a New Weekly Column by the Dean of American Rock Critics". Vice. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Pareles, Jon (June 29, 2015). "Review: Miguel's 'Wildheart' Features R&B and Clashing Impulses". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Wildheart by Miguel reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Metacritic reviews for 'Wildheart'". Metacritic.com.
  9. 1 2 Fowle, Kyle (June 30, 2015). "Miguel seduces and soothes on Wildheart". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ Brown, Helen (2015). "Miguel, Wildheart, review: 'a journey in texture and tempo'". The Daily Telegraph (June 27). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Miguel: Wildheart review – a genuine one-off finds his signature style". The Guardian. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  12. ↑ Carroll, Jim (July 3, 2015). "Miguel: Wildheart". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Cardew, Ben (2015). "Miguel – 'Wildheart'". NME. London (June 19). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Miguel: Wildheart". Pitchfork. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  15. 1 2 Hermes, Will (2015). "Wildheart". Rolling Stone. New York (June 30). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Unterberger, Andrew (2015). "Review: Miguel, 'WILDHEART'". Spin. New York (June 30). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  17. ↑ Adumere, Irede (July 15, 2015). "The musings of a 'Wildheart' called Miguel". Pulse.ng. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  18. ↑ "New Music: Miguel "Coffee (Fing)" Featuring Wale". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  19. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Coffee (F***ing) [feat. Wale] – Single by Miguel". iTunes. 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  20. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (June 16, 2015). "Miguel Shares Wildheart Tracks "...goingtohell", "FLESH", "face the sun"". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  21. ↑ Hernandez, Victoria (July 8, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Meek Mill, Kendrick Lamar & Vince Staples". HipHopDX. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ Q. London (September): 113. 2015.
  23. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (2015). "'Wildheart' by Miguel". Entertainment Weekly (June 30). Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Miguel: Wildheart | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  25. ↑ "Top 10 Best Albums". Time. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  26. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2015". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  27. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2015". Pitchfork. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Grammys 2016 Preview: The Weeknd, D'Angelo and More Soulful Singers Nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Urban Contemporary Album". Billboard. February 13, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  29. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Wildheart by Miguel". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  30. ↑ "Miguel* – Wildheart (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  31. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Wildheart (Deluxe) by Miguel". Itunes.apple.com. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  32. ↑ "Wildheart - Miguel : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  33. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Miguel – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Miguel. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Miguel – Wildheart" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Miguel – Wildheart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Miguel – Wildheart". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Miguel | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Miguel – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Miguel. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  40. ↑ "Miguel – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Miguel. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
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