Although
we’re just into August--practically knocking on fall’s door--a highly
anticipated full-length debut from PARTYNEXTDOOR has dropped, letting listeners
know that it is not too late for a summer fling.
Between daydreamy
tracks about watching the sunset with someone special and trap-laced grooves
recounting strip club romps, TWO is
equal parts raunchy and romantic, sensual and sweet. And although the
artist is not one mince words when it comes to what is on his one track mind
(this is an album for a very particular type of evening) listeners will exit
their first listen-through realizing they have learned more about his escapades
than the actual artist himself.
“When we arguin', it's just
me and me/I was hardly home,
workin' 3 to 3/Feels like another time,
there will be another time/I'll get to, forget you” he sings on “FWU” one of the more lyrically interesting
tracks--perhaps because it explores tension within a relationship rather than
the superficial chase. The track is a standout not only thanks to a suspense-infused
beat drop and high-crescendo chorus, it also reveals the potential PND does
have to produce meaningful songs. Not to be misunderstood, the album does throw
a clever turn of phrase every now and then--“Blowing grams, I'm
tree high/She fly like G-5” see “Grown Woman”--but
for the most part, don’t expect poetry.
When it
comes to TWO, the star of the show is
truly the production. Melding melodic R&B sensibility with atmospheric Miami-esque
electronica, PND sports an aesthetic that is refreshingly not-so-easy to
classify. In his delivery as well, PND rarely sticks with the obvious route,
splitting his time between buttery smooth croon and a chopped and auto-tuned
wail familiar of a Future track. In an industry where the rules of hip hop vs.
R&B are constantly being re-written, TWO blurs the lines even further, and
that is what keeps us listening.
All in
all, TWO is not going to blow anyone
away. Though his charming serenade will keep the project in the summer
slow-grind rotations of many, the somewhat shallow sentimentality of the album
will leave some listeners feeling detached. This project showed us how well PND
can try on the hats of others --the romanticism of Drake, the
drunk-in-lustfulness of The Weeknd, the conquesting attitude of Juicy J. His
challenge now is to emerge from the wading pool of all that potential and
figure out what it is that he has to add to an R&B landscape that is
desperate for new voices and new stories. Perhaps next summer, PARTYNEXTDOOR
will greet us with a proper introduction.
Comments
Post a Comment