PARTYNEXTDOOR – P3
Released: 12 August 2016
Man, this album feels flat, monotone, dull, and devoid of high points. Granted, this is usually how I feel about PARTYNEXTDOOR’s (PND) music save a few songs like “Wus Good/Curious“, “Recognize“, and “Bout It“. For me, his music always walks that line of being intriguing + vibrant or being dull + boring, aside from him being a great composer and architect of songs.
PartyNextDoor TWO had a balanced mix of vibrant songs and boring vibes. Moments like “Recognize” and “Bout It” keep the album high, other times his music fades into background noise as my mind accidentally wanders away from it and onto other things… P3 doesn’t have those high points that PartyNextDoor TWO had.
I appreciate PND’s lyrical ability to make something out of nothing with some of the production (like on “Brown Skin“) and often times PND surprises me with interesting lyrics and melodies (like on “Brown Skin“). Other times, this album feels like one long song – not a good sign from such a talented songwriter, producer and song architect.
The intro track “High Hopes” is quite ambitious, as PND stretches his vocals to hit various vocal notes and deliveries. However, ambition alone doesn’t make his vocals sound more polished. “High Hopes” is one of the album’s highest moments with it’s slow, menacing drums and multiple flows, but is plagued by some scratchy singing and an overall disappointing, and at times whiny, vocal performance. This album could use a “Work” or a “Legend“, or even a “With You“, which are some of the hit songs PND has written (and given away) that would serve as high points on this P3 album.
PND has a unique combination of vocals, production, hooks, adlibs, and image but I don’t feel like he’s peaked with this formula just yet. I can’t help but wonder if PND’s style will peak with him as the pioneer or if another artist will perfect what he’s trying to do with better, more intriguing vocals. This isn’t a bad album; I’m just waiting for PND to drop a cohesive project where he sounds completely in pocket.
RATING: Underwhelming
Standout songs: “Transparency“, “1942“, “Come and See Me (feat Drake)“