Hard to say what it is with Janelle Monae exactly, but however she does it, The Electric Lady is another barnstorming stew of modern/futurist R&B, soul, pop, rock and plenty else besides - veering between and mixing styles with panache, and at least equalling the many pleasures of The ArchAndroid. Across 29 tracks - a number of them 'overtures' or 'interludes' - covering funk anthems, tender ballads and jagged dancefloor numbers, it never flags, each song given a melody to ride and a panopoly of other details that further dress it up. Quite an achievement, quite a listen.
