Miguel – ‘Wildheart’

Miguel ditches the psychedelic tinges for rampant, lusty bangers

Much of the appeal of Miguel’s 2012 breakthrough ‘Kaleidoscope Dream’ lay in the way the Los Angeles singer balanced standard-issue R&B lust with psychedelia. ‘Wildheart’ ditches such whimsy in favour of something more rampant. ‘The Valley’’s chorus goes “I want to fuck like we’re filming in the Valley,” while the content of ‘Coffee’ is best revealed by its alternate title: ‘Coffee (Fucking)’. The musical accompaniment has hardened up too, dropping ‘Kaleidoscope Dream’’s pinkish haze in favour of booming beats, distorted guitars and murky echo. It’s often brilliant, with moments of melodic flair like ‘Coffee’ rubbing up against the unsettling Prince-in-hell nightmare ‘Flesh’. There’s an occasional tendency for the guitars to spill into the clunky arena rock territory preferred by Lenny Kravitz – who shreds on ‘Face The Sun’ – but ‘Wildheart’ impresses nonetheless.

Ben Cardew

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