:: Meshell Ndegeocello - Devil’s Halo

Meshell Ndegeocello

They aren’t mucking around when they call Washington-based musician Meshell Ndegeocello one of the most talented musicians going around. Not only is she an absolute whizz on the bass guitar but her smooth vocals and amazing songwriting abilities make an album like ‘Devil’s Halo’ an absolute must have in your collection. There is however a real schizophrenic feel to this album with the mood changing in an instant and you never really know what you are going to get from track to track. For example the opening track ‘Slaughter’ is more aggressive and heavier than you would expect while ‘Tie One On’ is a smooth short piece that you could easily relax to. ‘Lola’ again reaches a heavy high with a drum beat that a punk rocker would be proud of… however it is the terrific guitar playing of Chris Bruce that lifts this track to a different plane… once again ‘Hair Of The Dog’ returns to the relaxation feel. On ‘Mass Transit’ Ndegeocello playfully mixes rock and electronica but then gives right over to the electronica sound on both ‘White Girl’ and ‘Love You Down’. Both her talents shine through on these tracks with her smooth vocals making the former a must listen while her deep bass sound comes through strong on the latter. The rock sound returns on ‘Bright Shiny Morning’ and ‘Blood On The Curb’.. both turning out to be moody and smooth while lyrics such as ‘I hope you all die young’ make ‘Die Young’ one of the better tracks on the album. The album then closes out with the haunting ‘Crying In Your Beer’. If you haven’t discovered the musical talents of Meshell Ndegeocello then you will be pleasantly surprised by ‘Devil’s Halo’… just don’t expect a commercial sounding album.