Modified Fri, Nov 20, 2009 02:11 PM
Amerie falls just short again
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close xAmerie appears fated to be remembered as one of the great "what if?" artists of this decade.
A savvy, expressive R&B diva who writes most of her material and has a great ear for '70s-inspired funk beats, Amerie is perhaps best known for her 2005 hit, "1 Thing," which for my money is one of the 10 best songs of the 2000s.
Still, "1 Thing" wasn't the chart-topper it deserved to be, while most of Amerie's other irresistible compositions fell by Billboard's wayside. Her superb 2007 album, "Because I Love It," only saw limited release in this country.
Amerie subsequently parted ways with her longtime label, Columbia, and now delivers her Def Jam-backed debut, "In Love & War." For better or worse, however, little has changed, as Amerie hardly deviates from a formula that has produced plenty of great pop but no overwhelming commercial success.
The first four songs on "In Love &War" are all grittily explosive funk stompers cut from the same cloth as many of Amerie's past triumphs, and unsurprisingly they're among the album's standout tracks, particularly the brilliantly cascading harmonies of "Heard 'Em All" and the ultra-grimy funk stabs of "Dangerous."
As the album progresses, however, the tempos get slower while Amerie ostensibly tries to conjure up that long-elusive hit ballad. The duets with Trey Songz and Fabolous are engaging but hardly revelatory, and despite the uplifting harmonies of "Swag Back" and the seductive insinuations of "Red Eye," the back half of the record feels like a largely forgettable letdown after the kinetic opening workouts.
Perhaps someday Amerie will finally break through to Beyonce-level superstardom, but it's hard to imagine "In Love & War" being the album that makes it happen.
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