Album Review: Macy Gray - 'The Sellout'

Macy Gray's fifth studio album, The Sellout, released in the U.S. on June 22, 2010, is an album that's fun but also sad at the same time. It's a blatant attempt to remain relevant that reeks of desperation at points, but at the same time Macy's such a lovable R&B diva, you can't help but root for her. Despite winning a Grammy for her debut album over a decade ago, Macy's the underdog now, attempting to fight her way back to the top of the charts. But the best material on The Sellout isn't the obvious formulaic songs that mimic what's hot right now; instead it's the quirky tunes that showcase her odd personality.

One of the things that gets overshadowed by Macy Gray's drunken karaoke night type singing voice is that she's actually a very good songwriter with a twisted sense of humor. Her ability isn't very apparent on the album's early Auto-Tune laced songs like the simple-minded singalong "Beauty in the World" and the glossy and melancholy title track, where she could be addressing either a lover or the music-buying audience (or both) when she sings lyrics like "honey babe and honey boo, I always pictured you by my side forever, and I can't believe that you're gone," and "Oh don't go away, I want you to stay, I'ma sing you a song and I hope that you like it."

After five glossy pop-leaning tracks, the album finally kicks into gear with the sixth song, "Help Me." It's here where she stops pandering and gets real. "Help Me" is a a riveting, Gospel-tinged track where she defends her vocal style and eccentric ways through defiant lyrics like "They say I'm too far gone, but I say that they're wrong," and "Some say I'm bad and some say that I'm good, some say I'm just a psycho broad; I'm just misunderstood."

And on the delciously wicked "That Man," which incorporates a beat similar to that of the old 1960s "Batman" TV show, Macy shows the biting wit which people sometimes take the wrong way. "He stole my heart and he's killing me softly," she sings, before continuing "Oh, if he's stealin' and killin,' he must be a black man." Ouch. The biggest surprise on The Sellout however, just might be "Real Love," a duet with often-troubled R&B bad boy Bobby Brown, but not the reasons you might think. On paper, Macy Gray and B. Brown dueting might sound like a train wreck, but the song is actually quite normal. It's well-sung by both parties and is even kind of sweet in it's own way.

Overall, The Sellout is uneven; if Macy's actually selling out, she's only going halfway; although much of the album's early material is happy-go-lucky, sunshine-y pop music, the album's second half is quite introspective and poignant at times. No, her singing voice hasn't become more refined over the years, but her songwriting most definitely has. If there ever comes a point when Macy hangs up her microphone for good, then she should have no problem getting work writing lyrics for others.