Victoria Monét – ‘Frequency Of Love’ review: a well-negotiated declaration of love
Victoria Monét has never been afraid to embrace romance. Across her five EPs and debut album ‘Jaguar II’, the three-time Grammy-winner has shown us her desire to love and be loved out loud, from the excitement of finding someone new on 2018’s ‘New Love’ to the end of a relationship in 2023 on ‘Good Bye’. Now, Monét is eager to bathe and lather herself in love for a full long-player on her much-anticipated second album, ‘Frequency Of Love’ – but what happens when she departs from the smoke and haze of the ‘Jaguar’ era that turned her into an icon for pastures anew?
‘Frequency Of Love’ is diligent in its appreciation of genres, eras and figures that came before it, with Monét always eager to add to the R&B canon. From a Brandy interpolation (1999’s ‘Almost Doesn’t Count’ on ‘Almost’) to the sample of Dru Hill’s ‘In My Bed’ on ‘I Want You’, Victoria Monét is diligent in her ’90s and 2000s lacing across the record. For the most part, the Atlanta-born talent is able to pull these odes off, but can stray too close to her inspirations as opposed to paving things forward.
Monét’s best trick, however, lies in her ability to dig deeper into the archives of music history, away from the zeitgeist’s current obsession with all things Y2K. Joined by recent tour partner Bruno Mars, ‘That’s Why I Love You’ is a pulsating bolero number that samples Bruno Lauzi’s ‘Ritornerai’. As enchanting as it is tender, the song finds both artists using the lighter parts of their vocals, their falsettos leaping out atop the smoky woodwinds. And unlike the almost too perfect vocal mixing elsewhere on the record, the natural imperfections in the duo’s performance here is a welcome change.
Monét’s genre curiosity outside of her contemporary R&B fortress across ‘Frequency of Love’ is equally compelling. The Chlöe-assisted ‘Lose Myself’, a silky house track co-produced by Camper and Monét that would be equally at home in Chicago or Ibiza, is almost emblematic of her ambitions to widen her palette. She also reunites with Kaytranada (2024’s ‘Alright’) on the instantly euphoric dance-led ‘Reach Out’, even if it recalls Kay’s existing works a bit too much. And there’s also ‘Juicy’, which is able to bend its R&B parameters to invite funk into the equation.
WATCH
Among all the high-profile features – Kaytranada and Mars aside, there’s also contributions from Bryson Tiller, Lucky Daye and Leon Thomas – the album’s best is SZA’s appearance on the boom-bap and R&B glazed ‘See You In My Dreams’. The hazy duet, reminiscent of SZA’s own ‘Forgiveless’, finds the pair reconciling the loss of a potential lover that got away. “I slept on you so hard that I still see you in my dreams”, they sing, the urgency in Monét’s voice pairing beautifully with SZA’s tempered delivery.
In a generation of nonchalance and mystery, it’s refreshing to hear a singer delve deep into the nuances of romance as Monét does on ‘Frequency Of Love’. She’s willing to embrace vulnerability in this hue for all of its quirks, charms and thrills. However, Monét can also be too eager to honour what came before her, so much so that she periodically gets lost in the sauce. Still, the record demonstrates an artist who can, for the most part, be trusted to weave ambition, aptitude, tradition and sonics together into a solid package.
Details
- Record label: Lovett Music/RCA Records
- Release date: October 2, 2026
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