Album Review: Kelis - Food

It's been a long time since Kelis metamorphosed from the future funk and R&B of her earlier material to the surprising David Guetta-assisted disco house diva shenanigans of Flesh Tone. Adopting a gospel soul stance on a concept album loosely themed around food, Kelis continues to surprise with yet another stylistic shift. Kelis' previous attempts to capture the imagination of mainstream audiences has to date been hit and miss but on this release she seems to have abandoned glitter-dusted dreams of pop stardom entirely. Instead Dave Sitek and her 13-piece band grind out the old-school funk, soul and gospel flavours of this album. Kelis' sultry vocals are served unto our ears on a luscious bed of strings and horns. The mix works around her distinctive voice and Sitek, possibly fascinated with Phil Spector, has given this album a loud, rich, organic texture that recalls the dusty grooves of yesteryear. The album kick-starts with the glorious feel-good vibes of a generous all-day Breakfast, while generous servings of Jerk Ribs, Friday Fish Fry, Cobbler and Biscuits N' Gravy ought to earn Kelis a Michelin hat for her culinary skills as she satiates listeners' appetites for soulful introspection and crunchy deep fried pop hooks. She gets pink on Floyd and drifts into dreamy reverie. Food cooked with love always tastes better and despite the song titles Kelis sings with great honesty about love affairs and when things get steamy food is just a replacement for sex.