Two singles
K. Michelle issued during the last few months of 2019 weren't exactly outliers in the singer's catalog. "Supahood," a chiming, booming, and boisterous track featuring the perfectly compatible
Kash Doll and
City Girls, celebrated her supportive-not-submissive dedication to certain deserving men. The candy-coated ballad "The Rain," co-produced by the re-emergent
Jazze Pha, mixed lust and humor by reimagining
New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" with
Michelle, true to form, sexualizing the metaphor, probably not what
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis had in mind when they wrote the original. As with its preceding singles, the rest of
All Monsters Are Human is of a piece with the vocal powerhouse's other LPs in its lyricism, sound, and quality -- all that, despite being made with a presumably tighter budget. (It's her first release through eOne, after four with major-label Atlantic.) In fact, she's still with creative partners like Ronnie Jackson and Brandon Hodge, while the primary new collaborator is
Aaron Sledge, known for his Grammy-nominated contemporary gospel recordings and extensive work with brother
BJ the Chicago Kid.
Michelle continues to make full use of the album format. She examines peaks and valleys of personal and interpersonal dealings with a rare combination of wit, candor, vulnerability, and conviction. Those who are still waiting on her long-threatened contemporary country album get another couple teasers with the opening "Just Like Jay," one of her rawest and most open introspective numbers, and the easily adaptable "I Don't Like You," a ballad of grace and spite with a bridge that hits like an unexpected combination-punch knockout. Beyond the obvious standouts and are some solid slow jams. These include "Ciara's Prayer" and the slightly country "All the Lovers," which are akin to finely sanded offcuts recovered from
the-Dream's compound, and "Can't Let (You Get Away)," a trap-styled scorcher. ~ Andy Kellman