Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Nov 11, 2016Alicia Keys decided to make something so raw, so honest, so palpable, that it should be all but impossible for soul music lovers to ignore this release.
-
Nov 7, 2016The combination of her subject matter and her urgent delivery makes Here her most vital release in years--and a welcome addition to 2016’s rich canon of albums from Beyoncé, Solange, Frank Ocean, Common, and Dev Hynes that address black life in America.
-
Nov 15, 2016HERE is sewn up together nicely and a testament to what Keys always gets right--speaking from the heart as she strokes those 88-keys.
-
Nov 14, 2016In a year of superb, politically charged albums by black American artists, Alicia Keys’s sixth record is a standout, on which her signature piano takes second place to her urgent voice.
-
Nov 11, 2016With Here, it feels as though she’s dug deep to produce a set of genuine, heartfelt and relevant anthems.
-
Nov 10, 2016Despite an undertow of glum earnestness, Keys has never sounded so committed.
-
Nov 9, 2016Alicia Keys’s musicality is far superior [than Solange's]: whether developing swaying gospel fervour on “Pawn It All”, threading balofon through the two-part reflection on African-American queens “She Don’t Really Care/1 Luv”, or riding a perky Latin shuffle for “Girl Can’t Be Herself”, her work is grounded in a melodic appeal that’s almost magnetic.
-
Nov 7, 2016Here is empowering at times--it's strong in craft and intent, and will likely perform well--but the hope that Keys will deliver that iconic, instant classic album continues on.
-
Nov 7, 2016At times Here feels like it wants to be What's Going On, the standard-bearer of socially-conscious soul, but it's more akin to Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, mixing the political with the personal.
-
Nov 7, 2016Musically, the way a boom-bap here brushes up against a Latin flourish there while Seventies soul echoes nearby suggests less a fusion of styles than an atmosphere the singer inhabits--these are the sounds New Yorkers overhear blasting from passing cars and seeping from pedestrian earbuds, reimagined as a hectic but coherent symphony.
-
Nov 14, 2016Surprisingly, Here doesn’t struggle to balance this range of topics. Keys sings with authenticity and passion, occasionally delving into frustration, which keeps everything connected. What Here does struggle with is an unfinished commitment to order.
-
Nov 10, 2016The rhythms on HERE represent a departure from her previous efforts and indicate a willingness to experiment with her sound but the lyrics, which rarely betray a sense of adventure, cancel out most of this good work.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 106 out of 118
-
Mixed: 5 out of 118
-
Negative: 7 out of 118
-
Nov 7, 2016
-
Nov 7, 2016
-
Nov 7, 2016