Janelle Monáe has announced her new album, The Age of Pleasure, out June 9th via Wondaland Arts Society/Atlantic Records. As a preview, she’s shared “Lipstick Lover” and its accompanying video.
The Age of Pleasure follows 2018’s Dirty Computer (which Consequence named as one of the greatest albums of all time) and her recent swaggering single “Float.” In an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Monáe said the album was written from “an honest space” and added that she started with a blank canvas while getting “back to the basics.”
She continued by explaining the album’s theme. “I’ve had my age of depression. I’ve had my age of anxiety. I’ve had my age of struggle. And again, it’s not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out… How do I create a space for myself? How do I redirect my mind on how I’m thinking about things? How do I realize that right now in this present moment — moments that we’ll never get back — this is where you need to find your pleasure?”
Produced by Monáe’s frequent collaborator Nate “Rocket” Wonder, the reggae-influenced “Lipstick Lover” embraces queer intimacy with lyrics like, “I like lipstick on my neck/ Baby, I’m obsessed, get me undressed/ I wanna feel your lips on mine.” Watch the video, directed by Monáe with Alan Ferguson, below.
“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure, ‘Lipstick Lover’ is our freeassmothafucka anthem inspired by f.am. for f.am,” Monáe said in a statement. “This is our audio oasis made with love and signed with cherry red kisses from me to you.”
Pre-orders for The Age of Pleasure are ongoing. Scroll onwards for the artwork and tracklist.
Outside of music, Monáe recently earned acclaim for her latest starring role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and she’s set to portray cabaret singer turned secret agent and civil rights activist Josephine Baker in A24’s upcoming television series De La Resistance.
The Age of Pleasure Artwork:
The Age of Pleasure Tracklist:
01. Float (feat. Seun Kuti and Egypt 80)
02. Champagne Shit
03. Black Sugar Beach
04. Phenomenal
05. Haute
06. Ooh La La
07. Lipstick Lover
08. The Rush
09. The French 75
10. Water Slide
11. Know Better
12. Paid in Pleasure
13. Only Have Eyes 42
14. A Dry Red
