Three albums later, she finally gets the privilege of having Justin Timberlake grope her arse. This is what we call progress…
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[6.10]
Martin Kavka: Ciara bets that she can make me believe in, among other things, sex. I have my doubts; I know for a fact that human reproduction occurs through budding.
[3]
Jordan Sargent: It’s hard to begrudge Ciara for “Love, Sex & Magic”, seeing as her third album has been totally bungled by her label and completely plundered by the internet. She’s apparently entered “I’ll try anything once” mode, and here she slips on JT’s FutureSex/LoveSounds fedora, listlessly coasting through an uninspired bit of post-2006 Timbaland disco. Timberlake’s beat struts effortlessly, but everything else is wholly uninspiring, including the “chemistry” between the two, which is so nonexistent you can almost visualize their vocals being spliced in ProTools. And here’s something I never thought I’d say about a Ciara single: it would sound better as an MGMT song.
[5]
Alex Macpherson: A choice of single which initially disappointed – mostly because it wasn’t ‘High Price’, ‘Echo’ or ‘Work’, the astonishingly great demos for Ciara’s imminent Fantasy Ride which leaked over the past six months. But ‘Love Sex Magic’ – a jump-off from FutureSex/LoveSounds, but with Justin kept under control to just be his sexy self – has irresistible charms of its own. The slinky, silky rhythm, so conducive for hot dancefloor moves; the vocal switch-up to a sultry purr which both Justin and Ciara essay midway through their verses; the way the “part where we fall in love” is as perfunctory as possible, so they can get back to the more important business of shagging. Two out of three ain’t bad.
[8]
John M. Cunningham: It’s hard for me to resist hints of light funk in current R&B, especially here, where the voices of Ciara, still weightless but with a new elasticity, and Monsieur Timberlake, that charmer, blend so well amid the mildly flirtatious bounce. Points for acknowledging the contrivance of the bridge (even as it serves as sweet counterpoint); points off because I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a bigger hook they’re suppressing. But that’s a quibble.
[8]
Iain Mew: The slow section where Ciara sings “let’s slow it down so we fall in love” is typical of a weirdly coy unspecific song which is the epitome of telling and not showing. “I bet you know what I mean” seems a bit hopeless by the end of it.
[5]
Additional Scores
Hillary Brown: [5]
Joseph McCombs: [6]
Hazel Robinson : [4]
Martin Skidmore: [9]
Alex Wisgard: [8]