A solid and consistently enjoyable R&B album. It’s Q Parker’s second album, coming 13 years after his debut. That earlier project had several tracks that easily top anything here - though, to be fair, a few of those are A+ songs for me, which is why I kept looking out for new music from him. ‘fff’ was the first to catch my ear thanks to its instantly grabbing hook but there are lots of good moments.
Best Tracks: Beg, fff, Put It On, Lightwork, 3Some
This is not as consistent as Lemar's previous album, 'The Truth About Love', but there are still some excellent R&B/Soul ballads here. On his first five albums, he put A-tier songs on all of them. The title track is amazing and a few aren't far behind.
Best Tracks: The Reason, Weight of the World, If She Knew, Over You, Mayday, Wait Forever
1. The Reason 100
2. Weight of the World 96
3. Little Miss 'Heartbreaker' 60
4. If She Knew 84
5. Trust Me 64
6. Over You 80
7. Mayday 90
8. Wait Forever 86
9. Not What You Say 64
10. Black Tide 70
My old review of Mario's EP, 'Closer to Mars', can basically be used for this album. Not much is catchy and there is a lack of build-up or variance in the songs. Too many songs don't develop and also don't allow Mario to really show his immense vocal talent.
Best Tracks: Home, Still in Love
There's some great soul/R&B here. For this album you have to listen to the whole song because a lot of songs build up and erupt toward the end. The only negatives are that the songs do seem to blend in to each other at times, but nevertheless, it does feel like an album. I perhaps don't love anything to the level of the best on his other albums like the songs: 'Another Day', 'Time to Grow', 'Born to Love' or 'The Reason' but the consistency is an improvement. A great album if you are into Lemar's previous stuff or this genre of music.
Best Tracks: Love Me or Leave Me, It's Not That Easy, Just Can't Live Without Each Other Love, When a Heart Is Broken, Beauty Queen
Given the message and overall gentle tone (not to mention the great soundtrack) this has, I almost feel bad not rating this higher, but the second half felt a little slow for me. It didn't pack the punch that I perhaps expected it to earlier in the film. The emotional build is there, and the performances are subtle and sincere, yet the narrative seems to lose a bit of momentum once the central revelation settles in. I still admire what it’s going for (the dignity, the reflection, the humanity), but I couldn’t help wishing for a slightly stronger closing beat to match the promise of its first half.
