She's an actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, perfumer and producer. Let's face it, Jennifer Lopez has truly mastered being one thing: herself. While Jen-of-All-Trades exudes all the qualities a superstar of her caliber should, her recent work has taken a turn for the mediocre. From films to music she does it all, but recently it all seems to have left viewers and listeners alike unsatisfied. Unfortunately, her latest effort and fifth English album, "Brave," is no exception.
In fact, there's nothing really "brave" about it. Filled with retro beats and recycled synth instruments, these tepid tracks aren't very memorable. A few are certainly club worthy, such as the first single, "Do It Well" (which samples Eddie Kendrick's 1973 hit "Keep On Truckin"), and "Hold It Don't Drop It," an upbeat disco-esque song that wouldn't be out of place on the soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). Overall, most of the energy seems to be concentrated within the first few tracks.
The album opens with "Stay Together," a flirty, '70s-inspired dance track and anthem to fidelity. She sings, "This time is in our favor/This time comes second nature/ Heartbreaks are overrated/Stay together/that's the new trend." While Lopez hardly seems like someone to be giving relationship advice, Mrs. Marc Anthony presents the sentiment in a playful manner that echoes throughout the entire album: Every track reflects her newfound domestic happiness and reverence for monogamy.
For a quick change of pace, "Mile in These Shoes" is the classic diva ego trip filled with tongue-in-cheek sass. Lopez proclaims, "Honey, these pumps are too big to fill/10 million men can't walk a mile in these shoes." It has "second single" written all over it. The title track, "Brave," is also autobiographical, reflecting the confidence and fearlessness with which she now faces relationships in this new phase of her life.
"Gotta Be There" is a smooth and melodic mid-tempo track, sampling Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are." The song is simple enough, but with several different parts, it manages to not only be interesting, but pretty catchy as well.
With only two true ballads on the 13-track disc, "Brave" maintains a relatively upbeat mood - or at least tries to. The first ballad, "Never Gonna Give Up," is creatively arranged, with the comparatively naked sound of simple violins and vocal harmonies, which in the end makes it seem completely out of place. Luckily, it devolves into a basic hip-hop drum loop about two minutes in, becoming completely ordinary. The other, "Wrong When You're Gone," is a standard piano-heavy crooner, but it does the job and even showcases decent vocals from Lopez.
Though it's safe to say that few people buy J.Lo's albums for her exceptional vocal performance, her voice sounds particularly thin throughout "Brave." In her previous attempts, such as 1999's "On The 6" and "J.Lo" (2001), irresistible beats and great backup singers masked what she lacked in vocal prowess. "Brave" tries to take the same approach, but is simply less compelling. It could be due to the fact the album is devoid of any signs of Latin roots or street-infused hip-hop that are usually Jennifer Lopez staples.
This album is pure and simple club music. This can both help and hinder the part-time pop songstress. After releasing an album in Spanish this year, "Como Ama una Mujer," and marrying Marc Anthony, who tends to make her seem unauthentic and unconvincingly Latina in comparison (a common criticism of their current joint tour), she has strategically separated herself from that facet of her appeal and focused on the venue that sells.
All in all, "Brave" is thin and utterly superficial. Everything about it is pretty flat, right down to the packaging. The album cover is sparkly, technically altered and digitally enhanced, much like her voice. The booklet is only a few short pages, lacking the lyrics and "thank you" sections, and the tracks are layered, but ultimately fall flat. This certainly does not mean, however, that there aren't a few great dance hits and maybe a catchy song or two, but in the end "Brave" is ultimately unmemorable. It's not quite a disaster of "Gigli" (2003) proportions, but it's certainly no "On The 6."
