Ophélie Winter – Explicit Lyrics – Review

Ophélie Winter

Explicit Lyrics (Warner Music, France)
by Michael McCarthy

As proof that I am not anti-R&B, I will now praise Explicit Lyrics, the third album by France’s Ophélie Winter. (Lame title? Yes. But the words “explicit lyrics” on the fake parental advisory sticker have been coyly replaced with “love content,” which is as poignant as it is amusing, given the album’s songs of frustration and heartache.) Ophélie has ultimately been an R&B artist since her debut, No Soucy, but there used to be a heavy pop influence in her songs. Not so anymore, yet the material remains just as infectious. It kicks off with “Sache,” an addictive 2step-ish yet funky song that could go on for ten minutes and I wouldn’t tire of it. The beat hypnotizes you and you don’t want to snap out of the trance. It’s the sort of song The Neptunes have tried and failed to pull off with Britney Spears. “Party Now feat. Wayne ‘Tatz’ Beckford” is precisely the sort of yawn-inducing crap that keeps me from watching MTV here in the States, but Beckford also produced and co-wrote “Tout le monde le fait,” which basically means “everybody does it,” and I don’t think you need me to translate this to catch their drift: “bienvenue sur winter.com, définir ‘masturbation’: attouchement des parties génitales destiné a procurer le plaisir sexuel.” Hmm… Guess the lyrics are explicit after all.
(www.opheliewinter.net)