Going into Wildheart, I was pretty much unfamiliar with Miguel. I knew he was in the leagues with guys like The Weeknd and Frank Ocean and I knew he accidentally gave a leg drop to a girl like he was Hulk Hogan. Oh, and he was sampled in a PARTYNEXTDOOR song my ex-girlfriend likes. Jokes aside, I’m trying to say I went into this album almost completely blind. Now usually after saying something like that, the writer would go on ahead and say he/she was blown away with how great the album was, but sadly I can’t really say that for this album, not to say that it is bad.
We start off with three of the album’s best tracks, ‘a beautiful exit’, ‘DEAL’, and ‘the vallety’. ‘a beautiful exit’ starts off with a news clip sample leading into a dirty guitar riff as Miguel gives reassurance to his love interest in the song, comparing his journey with this girl to a police chase (tying back to the opening sample), driving through red lights with no care in the world as they know they’re gonna die young. It’s a great intro to the album that really sets the pace for the next track, ‘DEAL’, which starts off somewhat slow in the intro mixing guitars and synths changed quickly with an ‘OH!’ as the song kicks into high gear with a killer bassline as Miguel puts himself into a position of power due to his riches. This track, along with ‘a beautiful exit’, seem to be in a fantasy world he’s created due to his vulnerability (which he discusses in a recent interview with Pitchfork)
The Early Registration 