Obsessed with video games, American culture and Buffy. Can usually be found at his laptop working.
- Game Review: Crash Bandicoot 4 – It’s About Time - 12 October, 2020
- Opinion: Hogwarts Legacy – to buy or not to buy? - 28 September, 2020
- Mobile Game: Crash Bandicoot On The Run - 11 July, 2020
A year after her win on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jinkx Monsoon has launched The Inevitable Album, a cabaret, piano-bar affair, that just reeks of jazz mixed with musical theatre, with a dash of Bette Midler.
‘Ladies in Drag’ opens The Inevitable Album with a spark of humour, where criticisms of Jinkx as a performer are used in the opening by Fred Schneider, and demonstrates a level of talent not usually seen by a drag queen. All with that live-band feeling about them, you can tell Jinkx has done more training as a vocalist, but tends to stick to musical theatre styles of singing, which jars on a studio album.
There are two covers on The Inevitable Album – ‘Creep’ and ‘Witchcraft (feat. Major Scales)’, and both are pulled off magnificently with the Jinkx Monsoon style quirk to both of them, the former being the closest thing to a rock track you will find on the album.
The thing about this is that we all know that this is Jinkx going through the motions, from title to production, so while the songs are all authentic and well-performed, it feels like it is lacking the authenticity that a really good album has. If it was a live-recording of her show, Vaudevillians, it would probably be different.
The Inevitable Album is an awesome selection of music, and there is something for everyone on here. Not constrained to studio styles of singing, Jinkx Monsoon has done a marvellous thing, and probably ended up giving herself a little bit of an extension on her crown (but at least she uses it as a prop in ‘Coffee and Wine’ – check the video below). Although it should be said that musical albums either soar or flop, and this stays just above the trees – but this is probably because it is anti-popular culture, and will cater to a very specific crowd.
We loved Jinkx on Drag Race, and are amiably impressed by The Inevitable Album, but we would rather see her on stage. So get on a plane!
You can buy The Inevitable Album by Jinkx Monsoon on ITunes and Amazon now
Image: Jinkx Monsoon – Christian Lezzil 004 – DC Capital Pride street festival – 2013-06-09
