Ciara's Basic Instinct Review

♫Basic Instinct (U Got Me)♫

Ciara finally offers up a follow-up to last year’s Fantasy Ride with her fourth studio album, Basic Instinct, which hits shelves and online Tuesday, December 14th.
LISTEN UP:
♫ CIARA – SPEECHLESS
♫ CIARA – HEAVY ROTATION
♫ CIARA – YEAH I KNOW

After Ciara’s disappointment with Fantasy Ride, which consisted of a bunch of singles that wouldn’t stick, as well as a series of pushbacks, it seemed as though Ciara was in hot water with no boat. Consumers (and some fans) began to wonder whether Ciara had what it takes to stay relevant. It seemed as though she was more concerned with her celebrity, rather than her career as a singer and performer. She moved out to Los Angeles and started hanging out with the Kardashians — and although it made for a lot of photo ops, people were wondering when they would hear any new material.

Basic Instinct is supposed to find Ciara returning back to her roots. She announced that she was tapping the team at RedZone, consisting of the dynamic duo of The Dream and Tricky Stewart, to produce and co-write the bulk of the album, as they have done in the past with Mariah Carey and Electrik Red. Fans seemed pleased when Ciara offered up the first single, “Ride,” and the visual provided by Diane Martel of Ciara returning to what people arguably love most about her: dancing. However, with a lack of chart performance and promotion, people were wondering if Basic Instinct would see the same fate as the underperformed Fantasy Ride.

Musically, Basic Instinct pretty much starts off where Fantasy Ride leaves off. Actually, there isn’t much difference between either album. It’s clear that Ciara has a chemistry with The Dream, but instead of returning to what people loved about her most, she continues to struggle with finding a happy medium between pop and R&B. She seems to dig deep on tracks like “Speechless” and “Yeah I Know,” but falls a little short on the Usher-assisted track, “Turn It Up.” In all honesty, many of the tracks are reminiscent of that pulsating synth sound The Dream provided her with on “Like A Surgeon,” which was rumored to be a single from her last album.

If you were looking for Ciara to really return to her Goodies or Evolution roots on this album, then Basic Instinct fails to deliver. However, that doesn’t mean the project doesn’t have its moments. Ciara managed to release a cohesive album, in terms of having songs that make sense together with fluid production. The Dream, Tricky Stewart, Infinity and Soundz definitely did their job and compiled solid songs. It’s just unclear whether Basic Instinct is just that: Ciara’s basic instinct.
via concreteloop.com


rap-up.com stated:
Ciara follows her Basic Instinct on her fourth album, in stores today. Executive produced by Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, the disc marks a return to her roots, with the sensual “Ride” and dance floor-pounding “Gimmie Dat.” Now the R&B chanteuse faces her critics. Find out what they thought below.

Entertainment Weekly: Always a strong singles artist, Ciara has struggled to find enough memorable material to fill an album. She comes closer than ever on her fourth full-length, Basic Instinct. B+

USA Today: Tricky Stewart, Mark Pitts, and The-Dream are the producers of note, but they’ve failed to come up with enough stimulating hooks and beats to convince. What they have concocted is sometimes incompatible with their client’s soft, breathy, (and pleasant) pop voice. 2 out of 4

New York Daily News: When you have a voice this bare, it’s up to your writer/producers to make the records hit. But overseers C. (Tricky) Stewart and Terius (The Dream) Nash haven’t found riffs, or beats, steely enough to play off Ciara’s slack tones. 2 out of 5

The Washington Post: The fine, thumping “Gimmie Dat,” with its booming bass, offers a through-line to Ciara’s crunk past. On the title track, she laments time spent on the red carpet instead of in the studio. It’s a personalized mea culpa that’s meant to make it okay to like Ciara again, a feat that remains beyond her limited powers of persuasion.

The Boston Globe: The singer works with hit-makers The-Dream and Tricky Stewart on several tracks; unfortunately, it seems they’ve saved their best hooks for their next gig. Some songs are tart and have attitude (“Basic Instinct [U Got Me],” “Girls Get Your Money”) but many are nondescript.

BBC Music: Basic Instinct is vibrant, addictive, and sleek, a calling card for modern R&B shorn of filler and gauche imitation. It’s come late, but [the album] is one of the best R&B albums of the year.

Rap-Up’s Favorite Tracks: “Ride,” “Heavy Rotation,” “Speechless,” “Turn It Up”