Album review: Revenge by Muni Long

The sharing of a woman’s experience

The hardships of finding love

The singer Muni Long is coming back to the scene with her fourth album Revenge, making us travel through the processes of falling in and out of love, grief and letting go.

While the title can make us believe that we will hear vengeful and harsh records, the singer shares her love experiences (good and bad) as a woman. The goal of this record is to retrace the euphoria first felt when falling in love and the sometimes harsh realities that come after.

In the first three tracks, Superpowers, Made For Me, Make Me Forget (the last one sampling Untitled (How Does It Feel) by D’Angelo) Muni Long confesses to her love, expressing her vulnerability and devotion while also warning them to not cross the line (“so don’t break my trust, babe, love over lust, babe”, Make Me Forget).

The sharing of a woman’s experience

THE HARDSHIPS OF FINDING LOVE

The song 30s touches upon the subject of fear, more specifically, the one of staying alone after reaching another decade of life. Due to disappointments, Long apprehends a possible future where she has to give up on her search: “time is tickin’, now I’m worried”. Yet, the singer still stays optimistic: “I just don’t believe there’s nobody out there for me”.

The title track Revenge, discusses the process of breaking up after being treated badly by a loved one: “right now it’s 1am and I don’t know where you’ve been, or who you with”. Nevertheless, the singer doesn’t seek to avenge her heartache: she is beyond hurting a past love as she knows she is higher than resentment (“not lookin’ for revenge, especially on someone I once considered a friend”).

Played yourself is full of irony, with Long talking about her ex trying to reach her after feeling alone: “when you ex keep callin’ ‘cause his new chick borin’”, but she is over the games.

Things I Never Said is a raw record where Muni Long finally gets out everything she had been feeling since the relationship started: “One wrong move and, poof, you in your grave, some of the things I think about least twice a day”.

The next track Types Questions, resume all the questions Long now asks to potential lovers: “Are you for real or are you playin’ on my phone? Am I the one or do you got someone at home?”. She is done with the mind tricks and being too sweet: she knows who she wants.

In The Baddest, is a empowering song with the singer reflecting on how most men don’t “deserve” her affection. She is starting to see her true value as a woman and she is finding her independence again: “I’m learning none of you really don’t deserve me, not if all you want to do is hurt me”.

Waste no time acts as a second parter to The Baddest: in this song, Long recalls her past struggles and wishes to live fully: “I don’t wanna waste no time, don’t want to cry”.

The closing track and lead single, Ruined Me, is a bitter-sweet ending, with Muni Long reminiscing all the hurt and disappointment: she now believes to be impossible to love: “whoever might try to love me next, is gon’ have a time”.

Revenge is a soulful, heartfelt album, offering us the vision of a heartbroken yet strong woman, finding herself again after being trapped in bad relationships for years. We have a raw and unapologetic version of a woman , who now choses protecting and valuing herself over filling her loneliness.

The instrumental production creates smooth and coherent transitions, tying everything together. The elements of soul and R&B are reminiscent of classic records with a touch of modernism, creating a new world for our ears’ pleasure.