Kenna

It's been four years since Kenna released New Sacred Cow, a genre-skipping fit of neo-soul, new-wave and pop, all produced by the non-Pharrell half of primo production team, The Neptunes. But while having Chad Hugo (a high school classmate of Kenna's) helm the record might have seemed like a godsend, the knob-twiddler's ostensible need to prove himself in the face of Pharrell's ascent to mega-stardom marred a decent part of the album—a bloated song cycle that would have done well to trim some fat and focus most of its efforts on feel-good Daft Punkian romps like "Freetime."

And while Make Sure They See Your Face is still in need of some Ritalin and restraints, Kenna's searching heart (or is it Hugo's?) stumbles over more gold this go-round, like the ready-made PSP commercial soundtracker "Out of Control" or the Pharrell-produced, astro-funk freakout "Say Goodbye to Love," where Kenna almost sounds like a soul-drenched Kele Okereke of Bloc Party. It's this neo-romantic, new-wave vocal that pulls much of the record up by its bootstraps. Drums rip through a muddy cloud of synths on album-opener "Daylight," only to make way for Kenna's out-of-breath, impassioned howl. Then "Out of Control" takes the wheel with a rock-candy electro pound, somewhere between Justin Timberlake, Justice and Jamiroquai.

Elsewhere, "Baptized in Blacklight" is a seismic Brit-rock anthem bolstered by a boxy programmed drum and a funky bass line, while "Face the Gun/Good Luck" gets all post-modern pop with references to Gnarls Barkley's crayola bounce and Gwen Stefani's stylized sass. To be fair, Kenna tried to do the same on Cow, belting out the big '80s melodies through a kaleidoscope of genre. But here the sonics are tighter and more engaging, allowing for an impressive vocal showing, and a stronger album.

—Robbie Mackey
10.16.07

Kenna's biggest problem, disregarding the multiple delays that accompany his releases -- although the two may be related -- is how to categorize his music, and therefore, how to market it. His debut, New Sacred Cow, was dropped from Interscope before being picked up by Columbia, and was a hodgepodge of hip-hop beats and synthesized pop riffs, propelled by the production efforts of the Neptunes' Chad Hugo, Kenna's friend since high school. And though the critical reception to the project was warm enough, sales were low and Kenna was sent on his way, labelless. Eventually, with another nearly completed album, he found a new home at Universal (which is a little coincidental, considering it's Interscope's parent company), and what results, Make Sure They See My Face, is a much more cohesive record, one that may have an easier time making it onto MTV and mainstream radio. That's not to say there's not still a wide scope of influence here: the songs move from Justin Timberlake ("Loose Wires/Blank Radio") to Bloc Party ("Face the Gun/Good Luck," "Out of Control (State of Emotion)") to Depeche Mode ("Be Still"), even to early Radiohead ("Better Wise Up"). The cover references the indie rock group Stars 2005 critical favorite Set Yourself on Fire, the heavy beats pay tribute to rap, and the soft piano lines sound almost Coldplay-esque in their stature and grandiosity. But what comes out of all of this is not a disheveled, undirected mess; instead, it's a solid pop album, meant to fill the gap the Killers left when they discovered Bruce Springsteen, with strong, catchy hooks and vocals that range from Kele Okereke yelps to emotional Bono swells. This doesn't mean it's without its problems: lyrically, it can be a bit weak ("Hey man, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, I'm wide awake man" goes the chorus of the closer, "Wide Awake"), and even though it's all tied together very nicely (the Neptunes are certainly no lightweights, that much is sure), there's still that underlying feel that it's trying a little too hard to be everything, instead of allowing it to come out naturally. On a "pure" indie rock album, this would be quite a flaw, but on one that's unapologetically pop, it can be forgiven. Kenna's reaching out to everyone, everywhere, and not doing a bad job, either, and as 2007's market is different from 2003's, more familiar with the sounds Kenna's producing, and the industry is more aware of how to promote him, Make Sure They See My Face may be the record that finally truly breaks him into the mainstream. [A Circuit City Exclusive of the CD was also released.] ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide