Aquarius is the debut studio album by American singer Tinashe. It was released on October 3,2014,through RCA Records. In 2011,after the disbandment of the girl group The Stunners,Tinashe announced that she would begin pursuing a solo career. The following year,she released her debut mixtape,titled In Case We Die (2012). After raising her profile with the mixtape,Tinashe met with RCA where she subsequently signed a recording contract. Following her signing a record deal,Tinashe immediately began working on the album. During the recording process,she released two other mixtapes,Reverie (2012) and Black Water (2013).
Aquarius,titled after Tinashe's zodiac sign,incorporates several genres including R&B,alternative R&B,and pop. The album's production was characterized as being synthetic,with atmospherics and minimalist beats and electronics,and its composition drew comparisons to a variety of artists including The Weeknd and Aaliyah. Most of the songs were written by Tinashe herself,also serving as the album's executive producer alongside Mike Nazzaro.
Upon its release,Aquarius received generally positive reviews from music critics,who commended its production,lyrics,and themes,with reviewers comparing it to the work of Janet Jackson. The album debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200,selling 18,821 copies in its first week. It also charted in Australia,France and the United Kingdom. The album was promoted with the release of three singles—"2 On","Pretend",and "All Hands on Deck"—with the first reaching number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background
In 2011,following the disbandment of The Stunners,Tinashe began pursuing her music career as a solo artist.[2] In February 2012,it saw the release of her debut mixtape,In Case We Die (2012).[3] Tinashe signed a deal with RCA Records in July 2012.[4][5] She then subsequently released her second mixtape,Reverie,on September 6,2012 through her official website.[6] After the release of Aquarius,she stated the album represents "a new season of music and art".[7]
Recording
Just working with different people as opposed to just doing everything myself was a definite learning process. It's a slower process, for sure. I've been working on it for a year and a half, while the mixed tapes I produced within a month.
— Tinashe speaking on the album's recording process[8]
In 2012, Tinashe began to work on her debut studio album.[9] Recording sessions took place in Los Angeles, London, Atlanta, New York, and Toronto.[10][11] In an interview, Tinashe revealed that she had been recording and producing the album for two years, compared her mixtapes which she had created in a month. Tinashe compared the process with her album as being different due to working with other producers, during her mixtapes she made all the "decisions", but when recording the album, she was working with other "creative people", and had to become "comfortable".[12] During recording, Tinashe recorded and produced the album at her home studio in her bedroom, where she produced some of the interludes included on the album. She described the process as being "tighter" than her previous production.[13]
Tinashe also avoided listening to music during recording, not to be heavily influenced by the work of other artists, stating that she wanted the music to come from a "genuine place of inspiration."[13] The guest verses provided by Schoolboy Q and ASAP Rocky were recorded separately and sent to Tinashe via email, however, her collaboration with Future was recorded in the studio together in Atlanta. Speaking about working with Future, Tinashe said, "I went to Atlanta and worked together on the song, and we wrote at the same time."[13]
In December 2013, Tinashe revealed that she had almost completed the recording of the album with nearly 100 songs being recorded at that point. She also revealed that she was at the final stages of the album's production, in which she was picking and choosing the album's final track listing as well as choosing "key songs" to fill the gaps.[14] During the recording process of the album, Tinashe recorded more than 100 songs.[15]
Composition
Aquarius blends a variety of genres including R&B,[16]alternative R&B,[16] and pop.[17] According to Dean Van Nguyen of NME, the album's music is a mix of The Weeknd's "decadent alt-R&B" and Aaliyah's "seductive cyber-pop".[17] As August Brown of the Los Angeles Times calls the album's music "weird, wonderful world of experimental beat" which he compared to other PBR&B singers, including FKA twigs and Kelela, continuing to say the album has rhythm and swing "yet cut through with melancholy".[18] Andy Kellman of AllMusic described the album's musical style as being mostly "low-lit, slinking in tempo, and stitched together with several interludes", which Kellman described as being influenced by The Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson.[19]
About the album's production, Nguyen noted it for being "synthetic" and containing "[l]urid, crawling atmospherics led by beats and keys" along with "minimalism, thumping beats and electronics".[17] Kellman described the production as being "laced with small details, subtle twists, and gradual intensification".[19] Sally-Anne Hurley from The Music said the album "falls somewhere between mainstream, radio-friendly R&B and the electro, new-age alternative that's transformed the urban genre in a big way recently".[20]
The album opens with the intro "Aquarius", which features a "spacey" production with a whispery soul aesthetic, followed by "Bet" featuring Dev Hynes.[21] "Bet" is a "mystical" with "ride-or-die" lyrics, that brushed off "haters", closing with Devonté Hynes performing a guitar outro.[21] "Cold Sweat" is a dynamic song that sees Tinashe observing fake friends and overall sycophancy that comes with stardom.[21] Its production "begins at a crawl before evolving into a pendulum of synths", followed by the album's first interlude titled "Nightfall".[21] "2 On" is an electronic R&B song, marking a slight departure from the murky alternative R&B from her mixtapes.[22] It features "effervescent keys", "synth-string accents", finger snaps, traphi-hats, electro beats and distant chilly sighs.[22][23][24] The song also features a sample of Sean Paul's 2005 single "We Be Burnin'", with the line "Just give me the trees and we can smoke it ya/Just give me the drink and we can pour it ya" featured in the middle eight.[24] Lyrically, "2 On" is a carpe-diem anthem about being "super hyped up, super extra out on whatever emotion that it is."[25] "All Hands on Deck" is a crunk&B song[26] that comprises a thick bassline[21] and a pan flute breakdown.[16][27] Noted to be a shift from more sweet and coy-sounding tracks on Aquarius,[28] Tinashe solicits a snarling technique in her vocal delivery and the song's lyrical content was noted to combine a dance instructional with the subject of caustic post-break-up stunting, namely in the lyric, "Kiss the old me goodbye / She's dead and gone".[16] It portrays a scenario of a woman retaining her confidence and embracing her love life after a break-up.[29]
Aquarius received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on 14 reviews.[49]
August Brown of the Los Angeles Times commented that the album "heralds an essential new voice, one that coheres 100 current ideas about women, sex, sadness and musical restlessness in one excellent album."[18] John Kennedy of Billboard described the album as "a lustful listen that often centers on either coming together or breaking apart."[21] Meaghan Garvey of Pitchfork wrote, "As [Tinashe has] shed the trappings of distinctly 2010s R&B for something less easily time-stamped, she's revealed a new and very telling set of inspirations, unmistakably the product of coming of age in the Y2K era of R&B, where Janet Jackson and Aaliyah gracefully countered choreography-happy, big-budget smashes with flashes of something darker and deeply personal."[16] Andy Kellman of AllMusic remarked that "Tinashe's voice is almost always quiet and soft, yet her ability is considerable, and she packs a wide variety of approaches. Another indicator of potential here is that she is listed first as the co-writer of all but one of the songs."[19]
At Rolling Stone, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd praised the album as "savvy" and "self-assured", stating, "Throughout, Tinashe's sweet soprano sets up a hazy mood that's easy to get lost in."[53] Jabbari Weekes of Exclaim! called the album "solid" and concluded, "Although Aquarius may not rock the boat with innovation, it's more than confident in its stride, delivering an entertaining effort from the sultry singer."[50] Steve Yates of Q noted that "Aquarius has its generic aspects—the creamy vocals, drifting tempos and woozy electronics—but Tinashe's voice is pure and malleable, her lyrics suggestive and assertive."[52] Dean Van Nguyen of NME opined, "At 18 tracks, Aquarius may be overstuffed (the ambient interludes offer little) but it's an impressive statement that should elevate Tinashe far beyond the hype that has surrounded her mixtape releases so far."[17] Despite criticizing Tinashe's "tendency to over-stuff her songs with lyrics that veer cringe-inducingly between being both super literal and super opaque", Aimee Cliff of Fact expressed that "Aquarius is quite a complicated and accomplished album in that it's amplified the potential of the mixtapes, making Tinashe into an unquestionable contender for real popstar status, without sacrificing the weirdo introspective soul that made them so special."[51] In a mixed review, Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani found Aquarius to be "remarkably consistent despite its myriad producers", but felt that "[t]oo much of the album [...] fails to live up to that standard", adding that Mike Will Made It's and Stargate's contributions "sound utterly generic when sandwiching more forward-minded tracks like 'Far Side of the Moon'".[26]
Aquarius debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200, selling 18,821 copies in its opening week.[70] In its second week of sales, the album dropped to number 64 on the chart with 4,950 copies sold.[71] The album also reached number two on the Top R&B Albums chart[72] and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[73] As of December 2015, Aquarius had sold 70,000 copies in the United States.[74]
↑In 2020, the album artwork was changed by Tinashe's request in all digital editions to the photo that was originally the back cover of the physical edition. The photograph was her originally intended cover art.[1]
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