Mya: Moodring : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Apparently, summer 2003 is the season of the self-empowered R&B divette. Picking up where Beyonce's libidinous "Crazy in Love" and Monica's stalker-ish "So Gone" left off is Mya's boastful "My Love is Like . . . Wo." That booming Missy Elliott-produced single, from Mya's ambitious third disc, Mood Ring, reintroduces the former good girl as a sex kitten -- a transformation that began with the Grammy-winning "Lady Marmalade." On the disc, Mya flexes her matured vocals, notably on the magical, Pharcyde-sampled "Fallen," where she sings in a sultry lower register. Several songs find the Washington, D.C. beauty sowing her wild oats, as on the Prince-ly "Anatomy 1 on 1" and the Rick James-inspired "Sophisticated Lady." Yet, the breezy "Things Come and Go," featuring Sean Paul, and the angelic ballad "You," prove Mya doesn't have to take her clothes off to have a good time. Whatever her emotion, the eclectic Mood Ring effectively captures the evolving sensibilities of this rising star.

TRACY E. HOPKINS
(July 21, 2003)