Mya's image is ever-changing. She's a sex kitten, a wholesome crooner, a hoochie, a lover, a fighter, a trash-talker and a sentimentalist all on one CD.
Her new album, "Moodring," is quite appropriately titled, in that she changes up her tone, her message and her image from song to song. Surprisingly, the result works.
The album ends up a grab bag of great beats, well-orchestrated harmonies, throw-away gook and suggestively seductive vocal hooks that please more often than irritate.
The beauty of "Moodring" is Mya's overall attitude and the diversity of some of her beats. Whether it's a slow bass-groove or a rapid-fire techno assault, the beats behind the diva's powerful voice are solid. The lyrics open up a broad range of topics, from bad relationships, to the other woman, to boot-knockin'. and Most of the songs are bursting at the seams with sexuality.
Take, for example, the album's clear standout track "Sophisticated Lady." Beginning with Caribbean-style drums over funky bass groove, the song plays like a hybrid of Prince and Aretha Franklin, with its crazy disco-beat and no-nonsense sexual theme. Mya croons "Let's play house/when you're bad (pull your pants down)/You get time out," over funky, sexually charged horn fills. It's a fun, nasty, beat-driven club anthem with an intentionally orgasmic and suggestive breakdown of "Pull it out/Put it on the table/Can you reach my navel" followed by a snotty "Thanks, that was fun, now get out."
Sounds like Miss Mya learned a bit from Lil' Kim on the set of "Lady Marmalade."
"No Sleep Tonight" plays like an X-rated Boyz II Men song, with a sexy old school R & B beat over slinky, sensual vocals promising some lucky fellow "bet you won't sleep tonight." It's booty call music, and it hits the nail on the head.
Ditto for the hot-flash inducing "Anatomy 1 on 1," with its slow, deliberate that's beat perfect for nights alone with that special someone. When Mya says "I'm About to Explode," you may just be next in line.
But it's not all kink and boot knockin'. Well, a good portion is, but what makes "Moodring" work is its ability to diversify.
"Whatever Bitch," with its straight-techno beat and lyrics such as "Bitch bitch, I hate you/You callin' me a ho/Cuz I'm trying to get my freak on," is a hilarious, charmingly ghetto tribute to trash-talking. The beat is kind of out of place - more like the soundtrack to a hacker movie - but the attitude is solid. The backup vocals are contrived and electronically altered, but you've got to take to a song with a chorus of "whatever bitch" and lyrics about sharp-tongued women, cat fights, freakin' at the club and bitch slaps with a grain of salt.
But it also has its downsides. There are instant-point deductions are necessary for the constant use of phrases such as "You complete me" and "Like sands of an hourglass." Big deductions for "Free Fallin'," which uses the Tom Petty beat and changes it into a cornball R & B song that sounds like something from the early '90s. Some tracks, like the over-diva-fied "You" sound like something couples cried to at an eighth-grade dance.
But by the time "Compared to What," which evokes old school Curtis Mayfield with is intricate orchestration and gritty vocals, rolls around the bad stuff is forgiven.
"Moodring" makes you want to do a lot of things - some kinky, some clubbing and some crying. One thing it does not make you want to do is turn it off - maybe just skip a few tracks.
