Is Janet Jackson made for these modern times?
That’s a really good question, and that’s the question that her latest album, Unbreakable, tries to answer.
It’s been seven years since Jackson has released an album, and unfortunately for her, her name is no longer synonymous with putting out self-indulgent, heady R&B albums, but rather, with the phrase “wardrobe malfunction.”
Jackson’s last difficult album was 1997’s magnificent Velvet Rope, which she followed up with the more accessible All For You. This was, of course, all before her infamous performance at the Super Bowl half-time show—something that’s cast an unbearably long shadow on the three albums she’s released since then.
Unbreakable is also the first album she’s put out since the untimely passing of her brother Michael in 2009—something that she discusses on the rather poignant, but uplifting “Broken Hearts Heal.”
So is Jackson made for 2015?
The answer is both yes, and no, because Unbreakable is a total mixed bag—it buckles under its own weight by the second half, it’s got its fair share of songs that are tepid at best, but it also shines at moments—showing Jackson’s weirdness, as well as that her voice (when not assisted by a multi-tracker) is still phenomenal.
Unbreakable reunites her with the dream team of producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who are responsible for the sound of her trilogy of unbeatable albums—Rhythm Nation, Janet, and The Velvet Rope. While those albums didn’t exactly succumb to the popular styles of the time, but rather defined a specific sound, in a sense, one of the problems with Unbreakable is that it tries too hard to cater to today’s pop landscape.
And in some cases, that works—like the HUGE sounding “Shoulda Known Better” which sounds like the kind of thing that Zedd would have produced. It’s a gigantic, frisson inducing, go for broke statement, and man, does it work—it gives chills where it’s supposed to, and you just want to pump your fist along with the refrain when it kicks in again.
Slightly less effective is the similarly large sounding “Take Me Away,” which falls into the album’s second half—a song that, while catchy, feels a little less sincere in its execution.
Unbreakable starts off very promisingly—with the titular track firing on all cylinders, the whole thing sets the stage for a very welcome return for Jackson. Then it gets weird—as she directly addresses the listener before it segues into the album’s second single, “BURNITUP!” featuring an awful guest verse from Missy Elliott. It’s not until “Shoulda Known Better” before the album finds its footing again, with the somber “After The Fall,” and the soothing electric piano of “Broken Hearts Heal.”
And heck, I can even forgive the J.Cole guest spot on the self-referential “No Sleeep.” It slinks along as best as it can, poised to be some kind of “That’s The Way Love Goes” for Millennials. However, Millennials don’t know any better. It’s nowhere near as good of a song, but it’s like the one “bedroom jam” on Unbreakable, which is too bad, since Jackson once made an entire album that was practically one long bedroom jam.
The album’s weakest and least successful material is saved for its second half. However, there is a slight reprieve near the album’s conclusion in the form of the album’s slow burning anthem “Well Traveled,” Unbreakable’s most self-aware track: “I’ve come a long way, I’ve got a long way to go,” she sings in the song’s powerful refrain.
Jackson may or may not be made for modern times, but if anything, Unbreakable is an attempt to make her relevant in 2015—and it’s working. Just look at how Pitchfork has covered her every move since “No Sleeep” was announced earlier in the year. But will they even bother #blessing the world with a review of it?
For Jackson, she doesn’t care, as she won’t care about my review of her album: “It’s never the critic that counts/Cause critics only wanna talk,” she says on “Shoulda Known Better.”
Unbreakable is neither a career misstep, nor is it a redefining moment. Despite the misfires, it still shows that Jackson, as an artist and performer, still has something to say—and it’s brave to open up and say it after seven years of relative silence, which, in today’s pop music landscape, can feel like a fucking lifetime.
Rating: 3.25/5