Tweet’s first album got me through high school. My then crush rejected me through every single grade, including when I asked him to prom, and I was smoking my (proverbial) cigarettes at night — singing that well-known Tweet hook from her debut album, Southern Hummingbird. Her voice was ethereal, her riffs were unique and mastered, and her sound was unmistakably hers. That first album was such a smash from start to finish that I had no doubt that she’d be around forever — or at least for a substantial period of time. When the second album didn’t hit quite as hard as the first, I didn’t give up hope. A lot of artists survived the “sophomore jinx.” Besides, I kinda blamed that second album on Missy Elliott taking her off-kilter production too far with Tweet. It works for Missy, but it was too forceful for Tweet’s almost fragile tone. Unfortunately, for many of us, it felt like Tweet went radio silent after her second effort, It’s Me, Again.
When her third offering, Love, Tweet was shelved, I was heartbroken. Who would get me through my heartbreaks by singing my feelings and writing my life? To be completely transparent, I lost and repurchased Southern Hummingbird at least five times. That’s how much she meant to me — a vocalist who was still coming into my own. So, when she announced the release of Charlene, her fourth studio album, I felt a joy toward the return of an artist that I haven’t felt since D’Angelo came out with Black Messiah.
Charlene harkens back to the style we’ve always known from Tweet – guitar and harmony-heavy, and packed to the brim with resilient love songs. A particular standout on the album for me was “Addicted,” where she laments her over-infatuation with her love, saying that sometimes he drives her crazy. Her facility with harmony stands out brilliantly here, and it isn’t over-produced, it’s almost bare — just guitar and light percussion. This is the Tweet that I love to hear and want to see reflected throughout the album. “Dadada…Struggle,” another standout, flexes her brand of soul with more instruments.
If there are any disappointments with Tweet’s return, it’s with her choice for the single. “Won’t Hurt Me” is a good enough song, but it isn’t a leading song, especially for someone’s reintroduction to the world as a musician. Frankly, I was bored with it, and it took me longer than I should to go ahead and purchase the album because of it. Singles are just as (if not more) important to the success of an album now because even with the advent of being able to preview most or all tracks on iTunes, the single sets the expectation for the rest of the project. “Won’t Hurt Me,” ironically, does hurt that effort and misrepresent the high quality of the rest of the album. Even the video felt like a throwaway. I’m hoping she’ll follow up with one of the more hard-hitting tracks.
Perhaps the strongest track on this album is “I Was Created For This,” where Tweet talks about her destiny in music. It’s an uplifting song with spiritual references both in the lyric and in the instrumentation. I’m personally of the belief that in my fantasy musical world, Tweet is who Anthony Hamilton was talking about in his most famed song, “Charlene.” Boy, am I glad she finally came home!
Have you heard Tweet’s new album? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!
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