After one of the longest (and messiest) build-ups in recent pop history, Fergie (also known by her new stage name, Friege) has finally released her second album. “Double Dutchess” comes complete with a “visual experience” to accompany the 13 tracks (well, almost… more on that later).
First, it’s important to put this album in context. Since her first solo album “The Dutchess” in 2006, Fergie waited literally 84 years before dropping “L.A. Love (La La)”, the start of an agonising 34-month campaign. During this time, the album’s title was accidentally leaked by Fergie’s then-husband, different album covers appeared online regularly and several rumoured release dates came and went. Incredibly, the album was even accidentally leaked online by Fergie’s own record label.
After a stressful few years for the singer (and all her Little London Bridges), the accompanying one-hour film “Double Dutchess: Seeing Double” actually managed to stay under wraps until its official release.
But was it worth the wait?
The album opens with several back-to-back Bangerz™, although this strategy backfires a little. Intro track “Hungry” featuring Rick Ross makes a dramatic opener, but loses its edge given that the video was already released last month (following a year’s worth of teaser clips). Any lingering excitement is swiftly killed off by the grating piano riff of the will.i.am-produced “Like It Ain’t Nuttin'”, which presumably only made the final tracklist because its video (featuring a few of Fergie’s boldest looks yet) was already filmed in early 2016.
The tone, visual style and sound of the “experience” quickly begin to vary wildly, although Fergie continues to bring it to the runway. “A Little Work” sees director Jonas Åkerlund goes into full “Telephone” mode while Fergie dons a spectrum of wigs to cram as many characters as possible into 11 minutes of chaos. Meanwhile, the song fades in and out as she talks openly about her ongoing mental health struggles. Despite the sensory overload, the result elevates the Cirkut-produced ballad to by far the most powerful and personal moment on the album.
Fortunately, some of the wig budget was saved for other mid-tempos like “Save It Til Morning”, which sounds like a deliberate remake of “Big Girls Don’t Cry” but sounds all the better for it. “Just Like You” features a more basic video and a three-second loop for an instrumental, but Fergie’s unmistakable voice turns the song into a hypnotic highlight.
By the halfway point, it becomes evident that no attempt will be made to tie the separate songs and videos into one cohesive narrative. If anything, the tracklist appears to be designed so that every track is as different as possible to the one before. This could actually have been a smart move to disguise the fact that the videos were probably filmed over nearly three years.
Unfortunately, this falls apart when Fergie decides to disappear for several consecutive videos. Tropical bop “Enchanté (Carine)” is given the dullest video treatment yet, as Kendall Jenner (???) half-heartedly strolls around the set of an IKEA advert, her movements glitched and looped to the point of insanity. Reggae filler “Love is Blind” plays over an oddly chilling stop-motion film, in which a Fergie doll casually murders several boyfriends and neighbours. I won’t even bother explaining the offensively irrelevant “Tension” video, but needless to say the song deserved much better.
At this point I have to mention Fergie’s current single, “You Already Know”, featuring a classic Nicki Minaj verse which almost makes up for the tragic hook. The video is apparently the most forgettable of all, seeing as the editors of “Double Dutchess: Seeing Double” apparently forgot to include it in the film. It simply isn’t there, seemingly for no reason. They literally just forgot.
Blatant errors aside, this rollercoaster “experience” is really only a few creative decisions away from a truly solid visual album. Maybe if we’d let Fergie take her time… wait, never mind.
In conclusion, Target bonus track “Kleopatra” is the best song on the album. Don’t @ me.
