Review: On 'Frequency of Love', Victoria Monét makes the year's most elegant R&B — and stretches it too far

This is an opinion piece. Three years after the Grammy-winning 'Jaguar II', Victoria Monét released 'Frequency of Love' (Lovett Music/RCA) on Friday (Oct. 2), a 22-track record she describes as a reflection of what she went through while dating. She told the AP she drew on Michael Jackson's leap from 'Off the Wall' to 'Thriller' and first imagined a 'yacht R&B' album before widening the scope.

The result is a tasteful ride through R&B, house and slow jams: 'Reach Out', produced by KAYTRANADA and D'Mile, takes the album to the dancefloor; 'Juicy' has a yacht-rock sheen; and 'Let Me', which hit No. 1 on Billboard's Adult R&B Airplay chart, is vulnerable without being saccharine. Interpolations of '90s R&B (Brandy and Kenny Lattimore among them) add a texture of fond memory.

The guests act like characters: SZA brings neo-soul mood to 'See You In My Dreams', Bruno Mars melts on 'That's Why I Love You' and Lucky Daye sparks chemistry on 'Maybe'. Critics also single out 'You Hurt Me Too', with broken vocals over piano, as the most devastating moment — and 'You Mean The World To Me', with Leon Thomas and her daughter Hazel, widens the theme to maternal love.

The problem is length: 22 tracks and several interludes dilute a record that would be flawless at 14 songs. Still, few current R&B voices tell stories with this much control and elegance. Monét tours from Oct. 27 to Dec. 17.

Rating: 8/10