Think of WILDHEART as Black Messiah fighting Voodoo’s crusade. In Miguel’s contribution to the recent avalanche of funk-soul-jazz-rock odysseys from America’s black music braintrust, the bedroom is the battlefield. Feral fuzz guitars and blunt metaphors roam the fried sonic landscape, Miguel’s miraculous voice piercing the noise with more than enough grace to sell (a) direct references to the San Fernando Valley’s infamous porn industry (b) orgasms described as atom bombs (c) pop music’s umpteenth sex-as-religion analogy (d) all of the above. Whereas Kaleidoscope Dream perfected a dark, sleek, seductive sound all Miguel’s own, WILDHEART pushes that sound until it frays at the seams, mirroring the freaky adventurous streak he’s always howling about. –Chris