There's something to be said for
Daniel Caesar
choosing to not play it safe on his third full-length, his first for
Republic
.
Never Enough
does contain a sizable portion of the alternately stimulating and soporific balladry with which the singer made his name. A few of the songs here in that vein are among his finest. He's yearning for release in the sighing "Let Me Go," creepily seductive in "Valentina," and not too proud to plead in the charmingly dazed "Do You Like Me" -- fortunately making "Will you have my kids? You better" sound like light-hearted flirtation instead of a threat. For every familiar move, there's an unexpected turn. "Shot My Baby Down" is a dustbowl hip-hop soul murder ballad. Minus an "F"-bomb, "Always" could be mistaken for an update of a strong album cut by a mid-'70s sorta-country singer/songwriter. Most peculiar is the sluggish "Vince Van Gogh," on which
Caesar
's voice is variably modulated to sound either extra faded or monstrous. He muses "Used to be ugly, now I'm a handsome Charlie Manson wrapped in a Snuggie" after confessing "My words come out clumsy" and being informed that "the psilocybin is hitting." Odder still is that
is both a dispirited post-fame album and a major-label debut.
sounds categorically docile observing "Now I'm a product that must turn a profit" but at least spins it with a memorable aphorism ("Pain is inevitable, misery's a choice"). He often gets wistful, bemoaning the passing of time and longing to rewind nine years, back when "The future was alluring," or even earlier, catching a glimpse of himself as a kid enjoying his own company. Hopefully he doesn't become so disenchanted that he stops making open, messy, and fascinating albums such as this one. ~ Andy Kellman