| Begin | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Lion Babe |
| Cover: | Lion Babe - Begin.png |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | (iTunes) (CD) |
| Chronology: | Lion Babe |
| Prev Title: | Lion Babe |
| Prev Year: | 2014 |
Begin is the debut album by American duo Lion Babe. It was released on February 5, 2016, by Interscope Records and Polydor Records.[1]
The album also includes "Treat Me Like Fire" and "Jump Hi", which features American actor, voice actor, rapper, songwriter, and writer Childish Gambino. They were released as singles in 2012 and 2013, respectively, from the duo's EP Lion Babe (2014).[5]
Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "Hervey takes cues from forthright soul-funk greats like Chaka Khan, Betty Wright, and Betty Davis, but she has a gentler character that's her own, whether she's singing of body positivity, seducing without compromising herself, or serving up would-be skipping rhymes. Just as crucially, she and Goodman don't act as if innovations in R&B ceased before they were born; most of these songs are as modern sounding as anything aired on radio stations classified as mainstream urban." He was disappointed by some of the collaborations on the record, feeling that "Begin resonates most when Hervey and Goodman are left to themselves".[6] Evan Rytlewski of Pitchfork criticized what he felt was a lack of experimentation, noting that Hervey and Goodman's songs "shuffle between disco, house, and neo-soul. And while they update these styles with the airy, wide-open production aesthetic of modern alternative R&B, their songs are rooted squarely in pop. There are no experimental digressions that might alienate the dance floor... Lion Babe aren't after cred. They're after hits."[7] Dami Solebo of PopMatters said that Lion Babe "appear to play spin the bottle with sub-genres in an effort to make something stick" and that ultimately "many of Lion Babe's ditties fall short of achieving anything in particular, making it a pleasant enough album, but one that is quickly forgettable".[8] Shahzaib Hussain of Clash said that "more often than not, it feels as if too much of the album's soundscape is reliant on retro stylings, when Lion Babe's own idiosyncratic stamp would pack more of a punch", but that "there is enough substance here to surmise Lion Babe's future promise".[9]
Notes