For fans of:
Seal, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews Band

Singles to download:
“Superlove’ and ‘Push”

Lenny Kravitz’s “Black and White America” doesn’t really offer a coherent argument. The title track strikes a message of optimism: “The future looks as though it has come around, and maybe we have finally found our common ground.” Okay, Lenny, support that assertion. Well, in the verses, he talks about Martin Luther King, Jr. and how he died for a better world. He also mentions his own parents, and how they faced challenges in their interracial marriage. But he doesn’t really talk about what makes him so confident that today is better.

I’ll freely admit that argument analysis is a silly way to approach music. “Black and White America” has a catchy funk beat and a subtle interweaving of different instruments and riffs. Many of the other tracks are similarly well-put-together. But lyrics are important to me, and nearly all the lyrics on the album are either inane repetitions (“come on and get it”) or thoughtless feel-good platitudes (“Let’s work together; we are one big family.”) This isn’t even considering the ridiculous attempt at a dance mix that is “Boongie Drop.” Seriously, what’s a boongie? Is it closer to a boogie or a bootie? And how do you drop it?

After excluding “Boongie Drop,” “Black and White America” is a great album to play at a party, where people can nod along to the beat and ignore the lyrics. And Lenny Kravitz has never exactly been a lyrical genius—most of his previous albums have been about women or the rock-star lifestyle. It just seems like if he’s going to make an album that’s ostensibly about race, and about using his own mixed-race heritage to straddle musical genres, then that should be reflected in all aspects of his songs.