YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

Treading Water

New album is a holding action for the hip-hop influenced R&B trio.

To: TLC

CC: Fanmail's army of producers -- Dallas Austin, Antonio "LA" Reid, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Kevin "Shekspere" Briggs, Debra Killings, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Daryl Simmons and Jermaine Dupri.

Dear TLC,

Congrats on the release of your third album! I've been a big fan since 1992's Ooooooohh... On The TLC Tip and was one of the 10 million fans quite taken with 1994's CrazySexyCool. I've always admired you for being the first female artists to stake a claim in the male-dominated New Jack Swing movement of the late '80s and early '90s, following up your debut with one that fit the sonic zeitgeist of mid-90's R&B: soul over funk beats along with a hip-hop attitude.

I must say Fanmail kicks in all the right places. Funky dance tracks like, "Silly Ho," "I'm Good At Being Bad," "Shout," "Lovesick" and "Automatic" all sound as though they'll put a club-goer's backfield in motion.

Such mid-tempo message songs as "Fanmail," "No Scrubs," "If They Knew," "Unpretty" and "My Life" strike a balance between engaging, catchy musicianship and compelling lyrics. And ballads like "I Miss You So Much," "Come On Down," "Dear Lie" and especially the Prince-like "Don't Pull Out On Me Yet," tug at even the most jaded.

But "I Miss You So Much" sounds like Babyface-by-numbers. He's capable of so much better and so are you.

Speaking of doing better -- what's up with the beeps, buzzes, honks and busy signals that pepper the tracks on this album? The myriad producers seem to have studied their Timbaland collections -- that's a worthy endeavor, don't get me wrong. But why imitate when you could innovate?

TLC have always moved music forward. Fanmail sounds like it's playing catch-up. You've caught up with the competition, but this album could have taken you over the top if you'd scouted out the next creative step and leapt on it.

While I like Fanmail, I must admit I'm confused. You claim in public statements that Fanmail is the first album dedicated to "the fans."

What, then, am I supposed to make of the album's first two singles, the bounce-happy "Silly Ho" and the more sedate but no less piercing, "No Scrubs"? Both songs portray men as dogs, looking for a little somethin' for nothin'. Do you get a lot of fanmail from men asking to hit it and quit it?

Or how about "Unpretty," a song in which you rail against the pressures women feel to look perfect? Does this mean you are deluged with mail offering unsolicited fashion tips? I won't even get into "My Life," the mid-tempo mind-your-own-business lecture. Are you telling me to stop writing?

Are you sending out mixed messages? Or am I taking this all too personally?

There's an old children's song about a toy that "Goes zip when it moves/ and bop when it stops/ and whir when it stands still/ I never knew just what it was/ and I guess I never will." Now we know: TLC's Fanmail.

Latest News