Monae electrifies

The first great moment of “The Electric Lady,” Janelle Monae’s excellent sophomore LP, comes on its second track.

Following the overture, proper opener “Givin’ Em What They Love” features an unlikely collaborator for the singer: Prince.

But on the sultry, funky track, Prince’s sexy croon fits so well with Monae’s smooth R&B vocals that you might not realize it’s a different vocalist at first.

It’s not the only exceptional collaboration on the album. On lead single “Q.U.E.E.N.,” Erykah Badu’s more classic neo-soul style balances Monae’s theatrical vocals.

On “Primetime,” the album’s strongest track, Miguel’s harmony weaves and flows with Monae’s beautiful melody. It’s a great sequel of sorts to Mariah Carey’s “#Beautiful,” another brilliant Miguel duet.

It’s impossible not to bob your head to standout “We Were Rock And Roll,” a rock jam that still retains the groove.

The first half of the album is a bombardment of high quality, up-tempo tracks. Its thumping funk shows influence from southern hip-hop. It even features skits reminiscent of those on OutKast albums like “Aquemini” and “Stankonia.”

Monae’s theater influence emerges on these skits and through the album’s high conceptualization. The first half follows the story of the “Electric Lady” herself, a robot fugitive named Cindy Mayweather, living in Monae’s “ArchAndroid” universe.

Cindy gets off the hook toward the middle of the album, though, when the world ends. After bouncy single “Dance Apocalyptic,” the album’s sound shifts toward darker, slower neo-soul.

Cindy finds herself as one of the last people on Earth after the apocalypse. Unlike the feature-heavy party of the first half, Monae mirrors Cindy’s solitary story by singing most of the songs without help.

The second half isn’t as accessible upon first listen, but over time it reveals some of the album’s strongest tracks. Monae sings a melody that’s all pop over the pure hip-hop beat of “Victory,” making an intriguing mix.

The album ends with a pair of genre benders. “Dorothy Dandridge Eyes” features the second half’s only collaboration, this time with jazz bass vixen Esperanza Spalding.

The track is jazzy, complete with Latin American percussion and scat-singing from Spalding. But it also has new wave flavors in the form of synthesizer bass, all over a hip-hop/neo-soul drum beat.

Closer, “What An Experience” is the perfect way to end an album. The production on the song sounds different from the rest of the album, right out of the mainstream pop book. But Monae once again complements it with an impeccable R&B melody.

The track even breaks down into a reggae backbeat. It combines old and new with an ease that would make Flying Lotus drool. The subtle energy of the track leaves a cliffhanger of sorts, both for the album and Monae’s “ArchAndroid” saga.

This album is a remarkable achievement for Monae. It’s one of few albums of the last few years that flows well and really feels like an album from beginning to end.

“The Electric Lady” is absolutely a contender for album of the year. For Janelle Monae, there’s nowhere to go but up.