The Singles Jukebox

We smolder…

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[7.50]

Jonathan Bogart: Of course soft-focus flanged snyths are going to get me; but Sullivan’s Bligean authority is what makes this more than just an exercise in empty ’80s nostalgia.
[8]

David Sheffieck: That synth sample is fantastic, but it’s Sullivan’s delivery that makes the song. Graceful and throaty, she sells every emotion: the spoken interlude might be my favorite, but her feather-light skip of the “Call me crazy…” refrain and the gospel elevation on the bridge are nearly as strong. It’s moving and commanding work, easy to get swept up in.
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: Interpolating After 7’s “Ready or Not” this well will pretty automatically get you at least a 6 from me, especially doing so with those plush 1985 keys. But then on top of it, you get those warm, slightly eerie massed backing vocals on the chorus. You get the “Call me crazy but I think I found the love of my love” refrain. You get Sullivan reminding you that her voice is Blige-ian perfection. And you get a single even better than “Mascara.”
[9]

Alfred Soto: The year’s best album sounds less impressive carved into radio singles, but Jazmine Sullivan’s quiet commitment to her libretto should persuade anyone who misses Mary J. Blige and Toni Braxton on hot R&B area. But I hear differences. In the first place, Sullivan’s a better writer than either. Secondly, she thinks pleading is beneath her — instead she revels. In “Let It Burn,” she lets the chorus top line do the reveling and the call and response harmonies the blunt stating of fact.
[9]

Micha Cavaseno: This is just… not fuego. It’s a lot of good singing, which is fine — Jazmine Sullivan could make the most tedious indexes of my biggest book sound tremendous. But as per usual the song is disconnected and vague to the point of inanity, and the production here sounds like a Maze Opening Act 4th Single’s B-Side level of boring. I just get no joy out of slagging Sullivan’s output, but I still want to know where it’s going because the returns diminish with time.
[4]

Brad Shoup: The bass knocks, the synth crawls at you like a mist: this is love for horror-movie survivors. Can you feel it tearing you apart? Feel it creepin’ in your heart? Dare you make it through the double feature?
[8]