• Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
  • Search Site

Polari Magazine

  • Home
  • Up Front
    • Editorial
    • Clementine: The Living Fashion Doll
    • Polari Safari
    • WTF? Friday
    • Bulletin Board
    • Polari Facts
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Gallery
    • Opinion
    • Heroes & Villains
  • Community
    • Oral Histories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • Relationships
    • IDAHO
    • LGBT History Month
    • Blogs
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Film and Television
    • Music
    • Stage
    • Visual Arts
    • Classics: Books
    • Classics: Film and Television
    • Classics: Music
  • About
    • About Polari Magazine
    • Contributors
    • Contact

You are here: Polari Magazine / Music / Ciara • Ciara

Ciara, Overdose

Ciara

★★★★★
Ciara
43:10 min • Epic • July 5, 2013
John Preston reviews
…………………………………………………………………………………………

If Ciara were a cat she’d definitely be on her ninth life by now. Despite massive success-  a chart number one, no less, with ‘Goodies’ in 2004 – and being responsible for pioneering a music craze with krunk, the further long term success she has tried commendably hard to achieve has all but alluded her. A surprisingly prolific artist, she has  gone from one record label to another, seen release dates pushed back to the point of exhaustion and has done some extensive online promotion of some incredible singles which then never saw the light of day. This, her self-titled fifth album, is her best since her debut and is certainly her strongest set of songs to date. As I’m actually holding it in my hands I can confirm that does in fact really exist.

Over an economical ten tracks, Ciara still plays around with what could be considered as her signature sound; moody, skeletal soundscapes which are slowed down and sped up again. This technique is best demonstrated on the spacey and drunken ‘Where You Go’, and the buzz and drama of ‘Super Turnt Up’. The current single ‘I’m Out’, featuring Nicki Minaj, plays to current R ‘n’ B trends with its rapid hand claps. It is a decent if derivative attempt at a ladies’ anthem, Minaj being on good form especially here with her explanation of the consequences of having a big bottom being particularly to the point and hilarious.

It’s on the perfectly formed playful slabs of pop R ‘n’ B however, the likes of which haven’t been heard since the golden days of 2001 (Christina Milan ‘AM to the PM’, Jennifer Lopez ‘Play’, M´ya ‘Case of the Ex’), that really pushes the quality skyward and potentially places Ciara in a very powerful position. ‘Livin’ It Up’, again featuring Minaj (but unnecessarily on this occasion) is a funky, breezy and easy blast of pure, feel good adrenaline. On the even better ‘Overdose’, which must refer to the amounts of hooks contained within it, Ciara has never sounded so self-assured. The Rodney Jerkins ‘plip-plopping’ drum machine dominated ‘Read My Lips’ doesn’t quite scale these heights but it comes a close second and is beautifully sweet sounding whilst being, lyrically, hysterically pornographic.

It’s hard to say where this will take Ciara. The slow jam of the predictably sensual ‘Body Party’, also featured here in a more interesting slow/fast trap remix, has already featured on the US Billboard charts. She is now a smooth and capable performer; her determination and ambition cannot be faltered. R ‘n’ B in 2013 is still a confused genre but Ciara has remained a constant for almost a decade now, the overall strength of Ciara combined with the oh so necessary go-hard marketing could see her propelled her back into the limelight, her natural home surely? Let’s certainly hope so.

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Search Polari

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

About Polari Magazine

Polari Magazine is an LGBT arts and culture magazine that explores the subculture by looking at what is important to the people who are in it. It’s about the lives we lead, not the lifestyles we’re supposed to lead.

Its content is informed & insightful, and features a diverse range of writers from every section of the community. Its intent is to help LGBT readers learn about their own heritage and to sustain a link between the present and the past.

Polari is designed to nurture the idea of community, whether that be social and political, or artistic and creative. It is your magazine, whether you want to read it, or whether you want to get involved in it, if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or queer.

Polari Magazine is all these: it's a gay online magazine; it's a gay and lesbian online magazine; it's an LGBT arts and culture magazine. Ultimately, it is a queer magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

Twitter

Tweets by @PolariMagazine

Archive

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • May 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
© Copyright - Polari Magazine - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at
  • scroll to top
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Website Privacy & Cookies