LOVE AND COMPROMISE

the take

It's been quite a minute since I first listened to Mahalia's debut album in its entirety. Actually... I'd say it's been about four years since I did so. I remember absolutely loving this album the week that it came out and had it on repeat for about a month or two (and just in time for her first show here in Phoenix back in 2019). Fast-forward to now and I still have the same appreciation for Mahalia's debut effort. Even though some tracks kind of grew off me in the time since ("Good Company" and "Regular People"), others sound a lot better today ("I Wish I Missed My Ex" and "Do Not Disturb"). What I always loved about this album is that Mahalia incorporates both nostalgic and modern (at the time, I guess?) R&B and blended both together to create this feel good album, with her beautiful and seductive vocals on top of said production and sound. Still a solid debut album by Mahalia, that's for sure. While her latest effort "IRL" is a better body of work, that album doesn't have my literal theme song "What Am I?" like "LOVE AND COMPROMISE" does.