Hearts Sold Separately
was heralded with "Burning Blue," a moody slow jam with a sound in the vein of early-'80s
Prince
, if filtered through aughts production disciples like
Polow da Don
,
Tricky Stewart
, and
the-Dream
, and made a little more dramatic with strings. The song proved to be indicative of the fourth album from
Mariah the Scientist
, as the set is strictly in ballad mode and sees the singer working, as ever, through romantic anguish. It opens with
Mariah
in a tear-stained if hopeful state and quickly makes an odd turn with "United States + 1000 Ways to Die," where uneasy sonics and faith-based pleas regarding the state of the world give way to snare rolls, faintly gleaming keyboards, and a graceful sulk over "a fuckin' womanizer." The rest of the album's first half continues to play out as a kind of suite, moving from the 808s and heartache of "Eternal Flame" (not a
Bangles
cover) and the smeared, trap-adjacent "Is It a Crime" (a duet with
Kali Uchis
, not a
Sade
cover) to "Burning Blue." Side Two is more atmospheric and generally less memorable, highlighted by "All I Want + In Pursuit," which evokes
Tevin Campbell
's "Can We Talk" from note one, and "Rainy Days," a spare and hypnotic torch song. In the latter,
cunningly buries the lede: "Lookin' back in retrospect, that ain't what I deserve/Want it back in blood, and blood I'm gonna get." That it's delivered without emphasis makes it all the more chilling. ~ Andy Kellman