Mariah the Scientist
makes a transparent move from
RCA
to
Epic
with
To Be Eaten Alive
, her third ten-song, half-hour album in five years. Although there's a near-complete turnover in
Mariah
's production collaborators -- only
K Rain
and
WondaGurl
return -- this is fluid in relation to
Master
Ry Ry World
, with
continuing to refine her theatrical balladry, expressing and analyzing romantic instability in a way that's both downcast and alluring. This meanders a little more than the two previous albums and at times verges on dreary. There's at least some movement to the
-produced "Bout Mine," and "Out of Luck" is a woozy groove, unmistakably the work of
Kaytranada
. The mood lifts for the last song, "Ride," a light and tender duet with
Young Thug
. Title and shared release date notwithstanding, the longing "From a Woman" -- a highlight co-produced by
London on Da Track
-- bears little connection to
Thug
's "From a Man." ~ Andy Kellman