En Vogue - Electric Café Album Review

Story posted April 9, 2018 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Scott Perdue

En Vogue is back with a brand-new album, Electric Café, their first release in 14 years. Although En Vogue has suffered from several lineup changes throughout the course of their career, this album features a near intact original lineup, featuring three of its founding members, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Rhona Bennett, with only Dawn Robinson not being featured on the album. The trio has managed to reassert En Vogue’s presence in the R&B scene and has proved the band’s sound is still relevant even after so many years.

Best known for their hits “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Free Your Mind,” En Vogue was a prominent force in the 1990s for R&B, proving the power of an all-female group. En Vogue arrived before other female groups such as Destiny’s Child and TLC and paved the way for girl bands to regain the footing they had lost since earlier groups like Diana Ross & The Supremes. Although the group has not been seen releasing any music over the past few years, the band has been touring for several years and claims that Electric Café is not a comeback album because, in reality, they had never really left.

Electric Café attempts to reinvent the previous sound of En Vogue through the utilization of electric beats and synths. The album’s leading track, “Blue Skies,” is brimming with positivity, speaking to the band’s optimism on arriving back to the recorded music world after so many years. The song’s hopeful lyrics are backed by a relaxing groove and powerful harmonies from the trio. The next song, “Déjà Vu,” has a soothing melody with a catchy chorus that invokes a sense of bliss. The album then moves to a more powerful performance from the trio, “Rocket,” which has a more sensual and seductive sound, very much reminiscent of En Vogue’s earlier work. The powerful momentum of the album continues with the song, “Reach 4 Me” which has a more soulful presence supported by an engaging chorus.

The strength of the album however then begins to taper off slightly with the song, “Electric Café” which features some good harmonies from the group but lacks memorability. This trend unfortunately continues, resulting in the latter half of the album lacks any kind of real presence. For instance the song, “Oceans Deep” is fairly weak, utilizing irritating synths that detract from the listening experience.

The trio does bounce back however with “Have a Seat,” which features Snoop Dogg. This track channels a lot the diva strength featured in En Vogue’s big hit “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It”. Utilizing a catchy chorus with a strong beat, the trio’s playful harmonies grip the listener and Snoop Dog’s appearance only strengthens the track. The album’s closing track, “So Serious,” leaves the album with a strong female-empowerment song, which features an engaging rhythm and uplifting tone.

While Electric Café is a promising addition to En Vogue’s discography, the group has a lot of work ahead of them if they want to regain the traction they have lost since their earlier days. While this album gets a little lost in its use of electric beats, a fair share of the songs have a strong presence on the album.

En Vogue needs to go back to their roots, strip down their sound and regain their diva soul that is underrepresented on the album. Overall, Electric Café proves that En Vogue, while somewhat lost by time, hasn’t lost their relevance and is on the track to regaining their presence on the current music landscape.

Rating: 6/10

 

Scott Perdue is a freshman majoring in film/video. To contact him, email rsp5246@psu.edu.