Wikked Lil' Grrrls

''Wikked Lil' Grrrls'' is Canadian singer Esthero's second album, her first full-length in seven years. It was released on June 28, 2005 in North America by Reprise Records. The album elicited mixed reviews upon its release, with contemporary music critics generally praising her vocal performance but expressing mixed feelings regarding the record's eclecticism. The album gave Esthero her first album chart entry in the US, reaching number 24 on the US Heatseekers Albums chart. The album includes two singles, "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution" and " Fastlane."

Background and recording

Esthero was dropped from Work in late 1999 due to poor sales of her first album ''Breath from Another,'' and the label's absorption into Epic Records. She eventually signed with Reprise Records. Orlando Puerta, marketing director at Reprise Records noted: "Somehow she persevered, and she is special enough for us not to let go of her." Esthero began writing material for her second studio album before her departure from SME. It took over four years and in late 2003 she started recording sessions. In November 2004 a six-song promotional EP entitled ''We R in Need of a Musical Revolution'' was released. It features three tracks not included on the album: "The Lull-a-Bye", "I Drive Alone" and "Amber & Tiger's Eye".

Musical style

The album was noted for its diversity of musical styles. ''Vibe'' described the album's style as "an alternately futuristic and vintage soundscape of reggae, jazz, hip hop, and electronica." AllMusic's Johnny Loftus commented that the album falls "in a drifty place between modernized trip-hop (and) mild R&B." Regarding the album's stylistic eclecticism, Esthero stated in an interview with ''The Washington Post'' that her "taste is so vast it ends up like a premixed iPod shuffle."

Critical reception

The album received generally mixed reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 8 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Johnny Loftus of Allmusic felt that ''Wikked Lil' Grrrls'' is a "personal statement, if not a labor of love", however considers that the album "occasionally gets lost between songwriting, thematics, and stylistic flow". He gave the album 2.5 stars out of 4 and noted "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution", "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" and "If Tha Mood" as album's highlights. In extremely negative review from Splendid magazine, Mike Meginnis said: "A towering monument to Esthero's overpowering sense of self satisfaction, this mess overstays its welcome and abuses whatever attention you're willing to spend on it. In short, it's not a career highlight".

Some critics were more favorable in their assessments of the album. Sal Cinquemani, of Slant Magazine, was highly positive in his review of the album, awarding it four out of five stars and commenting that album "establishes her as the progenitor of what could be called electro-ethno-pop". ''Billboard'' magazine also was positive, calling the album "another eclectic musical trip". ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album three stars out of five and called the album "lyrically feisty and stylistically expanded".

Release and promotion

Singles

The album included two singles."We R in Need of a Musical Revolution," the opening track, was first released as part of a six-song EP of the same name, released in October 2004. An accompanying music video was filmed and released to promote the song, but the single failed to chart. The second single, " Fastlane," premiered in April 2005; it was released commercially in July 2005 as second single from album. It reached number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs, becoming her second Top 5 on the chart (her first being the non-album single "O.G. Bitch").

Live performances

To promote the album, Esthero appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on July 7, 2005. She also opened for John Legend.

Commercial performance

The album gave Esthero her first album chart entry in the US. The album debuted at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart dated July 16, 2005.

Uses in media

The title track appeared on the soundtracks to ''Miss Congeniality 2'' and ''John Tucker Must Die'', a season five episode of ''Smallville'', and was used in an early promotion for the TV shows ''Desperate Housewives,'' and ''Las Vegas.'' "Everyday Is a Holiday (With You)" was featured in the 2005 film ''Monster-in-Law'', and was used in a season two episode of the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy''.

Track listing

Personnel and credits

Adapted from AllMusic and album booklet.''Wikked Lil' Grrrls'' booklet

Instruments
*Scott Alexander — bass
*Bryden Baird — horn, trumpet
*Colin Barrett — bass
*Ron Blake — flugelhorn
*Stephen Bradley — horn
*Peter Cardinali — bass
*William Carn — horn
*Terry Clarke — drums
*Greg Critchley — drums
*Keith Crouch — vox organ
*Bob DeAngelis — clarinet
*Steven Donald — horn
*Steve Dwyer — tenor saxophone
*Adrian Eccleston — guitar
*Mike Elizondo — bass
*Jason Englishman — guitar
*Brian Green — drums
*Gene Hardy — horn, musical saw
*Gordie Johnson — guitar
*Oliver Johnson — guitar
*Dave Kahne — keyboards
*Camara CKmbon — drum programming, keyboards
*Larry Kline — bass
*Trevor Lawrence — drums
*Rick Lazar — percussion
*Sean Lennon — keyboards, guitar, piano
*Lil Dukes Up — clapping, snaps
*Andre Manga — bass
*Steve McDade — trumpet
*Gabrial McNair — horn
*Ravi Naimpally — tabla
*Graph Nobel — vox organ
*Mike Olsen — cello

*Owen Pallett — violin
*Terry Promane — trombone
*James Robertson — bass, guitar, keyboards
*Spookey Ruben — bass
*Michael Stewart — alto sax, flute
*Tom Szczesniak — piano
*Chuck Treece — bass, drums
*Brian West — guitar
*Malik Worthy — guitar

Production
*Adam 12 — keyboards, production, programming
*Rick Aoyama — digital editing, engineering
*Austin Bascom — drum programming, engineering
*Keith Crouch — audio production, production, programming
*Matt DeMatteo — mixing
*Victor Florencia — mixing
*Serban Ghenea — mixing
*Mike Haas — engineering
*Helix Hadar — engineering
*Chad Irschick — engineering
*Dave Kahne — programming
*Camara Kambon — audio production
*James Robinson — audio production, production, programming
*Rafa Sardina — vocal engineering
*Spookey Ruben — audio production, production, programming
*Track and Field — production
*Brian West — programming
*Malik Worthy — production, programming

Miscellaneous
*Michael Creagh — photography
*Larry Kline — production concept

Charts

See also

* Esthero discography

References

{{Authority control

2005 albums
Esthero albums
Soul albums by Canadian artists