Having largely stepped back from the public eye since the tragic passing of Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes, the group is now ready to return to the spotlight. A Kickstarter campaign was launched to contribute towards recording the new album and became the most-funded in the company's history, with the likes of Katy Perry amongst the first to donate.
As feminist heroes, even TLC’s biggest hits have been a beacon for multiple generations of women and girls, delving into such topics as self-esteem (“Unpretty”), and not settling (“No Scrubs”), as well as social issues like AIDS awareness and the cycle of poverty and drug dealing (“Waterfalls”). TLC were practicing devoted “fan engagement” (and defining it) near-decades before the constant cheesing of social media, and so it’s perhaps unsurprising that they would would freely offer up their own homes to fans, as well as set Kickstarter records for how quickly those fans raised and surpassed the $150,000 goal.
The resulting album, TLC, is a love letter to them. While not as explicitly directed as 1999’s Fanmail, it both hits on every style in TLC’s vast range and properly dignifies their storied career, incorporating songs that acknowledge their impact without waxing nostalgic (even if the boppy lead single was titled “Way Back”). After an intro jam declaring they need “No Introduction” while simultaneously introducing them in a heavy sub-bass clatter that seems tailor-made for opening arena concerts, Chilli and T-Boz begin with a pointed set of barbecue jams. The breezy “Way Back” calls to mind Alexander O’Neal and Cherrelle’s R&B classic “Saturday Love,” and paired back-to-back with the Boney M-sampling disco rave-up “It’s Sunny,” TLC gives a nod to its influences, a statement that even icons have icons. As album openers, the throwback qualities of these tracks are significant on a recording-career-ending album, reverent goodbyes that also recognize the wide age range of their devoted listenership. And the unique symbiosis of the duo’s voices are as impeccable as ever, T-Boz’s smoky alto gliding beneath Chilli’s chirpy one. That sound is a symbol of round-the-way-girlhood so embedded into the cultural fabric that it’s hard to know when it ever wasn’t, and strange to think these are the last iterations of it.
| A1 | No Introduction | 3:03 |
| A2 | Way Back (Explicit) | 3:47 |
| A3 | It's Sunny | 3:23 |
| A4 | Haters | 2:40 |
| A5 | Perfect Girls | 3:05 |
| A6 | Interlude | 1:11 |
| B1 | Start A Fire | 4:03 |
| B2 | American Gold | 3:39 |
| B3 | Scandalous | 3:33 |
| B4 | Aye Muthafucka | 3:16 |
| B5 | Joy Ride | 4:18 |
| B6 | Way Back (Extended Version) | 4:26 |
