We’ll need to frame this one…
[Video]
[7.44]
Alfred Soto: Ari Lennox and Victoria Monét have recorded similarly tasteful conceits in recent months, and if “ART” sounds as if Tyla hasn’t thought out her conceit — she’s a work of art painted by her lover, or is she painted on by a lover, and either way, is that cool? — she sounds as convincing. The rattling percussion creates a mild erotic simmer that warms up come-ons like “fresh out the gallery/can you handle me?”
[8]
Kat Stevens: Is Tyla exploring art as an emotional outlet, a conduit for shared meaning in our humanity? The evidence for that is lacking here, while the clinical, understated tones of the Cassie-does-amapiano backing point towards formalism and modernism over expressionism or romanticism. Yet Tyla does not push the boundaries of a constrained medium, nor does she delve deep into the layers of societal collapse that surrounds us. Instead, the lyrics lean into audience-focused consumption: Tyla is merely art to be displayed, a pretty Rococo portrait to impress the neighbours. Reclaiming capitalist objectification might be the ultimate goal of 21st century art but it leaves an unsatsifying aftertaste to this feminist. Luckily for Tyla, Aristotolian mimetics tells us that true art is about making populist bangers, and “ART” does indeed bang.
[6]
Mark Sinker: A joke I like from old TV sketches is when the gorgeous model eagerly skips across the room to look at the canvas and discovers the painter is some rigorous modernist and it’s all yellow and black zigzags or whatever. De Stijl me like one of your Dutch girls. Tyla is very caught up in her notion here, and this song does not skip across the room. It sounds beguiling enough, but it discovers nothing.
[6]
Katherine St. Asaph: One Cool Trick to Troll the Artists in Your Life!
[6]
Nortey Dowuona: Tyla has such an arresting soprano that whatever kind of loose, wispy chords and heavy bass log drums you place before her, she can ride them, gently sculpting them to her use. Sammy SoSo, architect of “Water” (and “Me Pongo Loca” by Kali Uchis, “See Me Now” by Nasty C, “Playing Chess” by J Hus, and “Bare With Me” by Ms Banks — maybe a remix with her of this pls) leads the background vocals over light, airy synths but leaves them in the distance. Tyla leans on them for support, making her a stronger presence. Tyla you will always be loved but not famous cuz that is dangerousss.
[10]
Ian Mathers: In retrospect I gave “Water” something I’ll call “the gentleman’s [8],” here meaning “if I’d first heard the song maybe a week earlier it would have been a [10], easy.” “ART” only confirms that hindsight, because this is a very solid [8] and I feel a bit silly giving both songs the same score. Such is the agony and the ecstasy of the Singles Jukebox.
[8]
TA Inskeep: A fresh-sounding blend of amapiano and smooth R&B that’s subtly hip-shaking but also pretty damned sexy (though not as much so as “Water,” which I wish I’d blurbed, an easy [9] for me). Pray that Tyla sticks with this groove and doesn’t get sucked into the UK dance music machine, because this is where she belongs.
[7]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Doesn’t go down as easy as “Water,” largely because the lyrics and delivery are clunky. But there’s an appeal to that, how in Tyla’s desire to entice, she sounds most at ease when going back to basics: “I’ll be your A-R-T” is, yes, an evocative message as simple as A-B-C.
[8]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: An interesting exercise in expectations: if I encountered this in the wider world, shorn from the context of being a single off of an immensely hyped-up album from an artist who made one of this site’s favorite songs of last year, would I still love it? Part of me wants to say no – the things that truly endear “ART” to me, like the way Tyla’s voice intersects with the backing vocals or the soothing hum of the organ as it mixes in with the kick drum, are features that only reveal themselves with slightly closer inspection. But “ART” has enough in the way of immediate appeal to draw you in even if you’ve never heard “Water,” the depth of Tyla’s hooks pulling at me from even a moment’s listen.
[8]