Review:
The-Dream is one of the leaders of R&B’s darker/pop sound (influencing
artists like The-Weeknd) – an auteur of the genre. His music is explicit,
emotional, and wonderfully produced (it is generally much darker and slower
than most popular modern R&B). While he has written many of the last decade’s
biggest hits, Terius Nash has never enjoyed commercial success as a solo artist
(despite his critical acclaim).
IV Play seems like an attempt by
Nash to make a more commercially accessible album. It is packed with a lot of
guests: Jay-Z, Big Sean, Pusha T, Beyonce, 2 Chainz, Kelly Rowland, and
Fabolous, but really only Pusha T adds anything of note (his very brief intro
to Pussy is
fantastic). The-Dream is at his best when he is battling his own insecurity and
melancholy using his great falsetto vocals, but still with a helping of swagger.
Love
vs. Money had a ton of features, but it is his best album (and I would
argue one of modern R&B’s best). It is not so much that these songs are bad,
but rather that they just feel like The-Dream is not as ambitious with his
music (which is disappointing).
Interesting, and sort of in the
face of making a more mainstream album, Nash makes the statement that he is
tired of EDM – when it has completely taken over almost every genre (but
especially pop and R&B). Musically, the album is filled with more
classically styled pop/R&B tracks that move to a slower beat. However,
R&B has seen sort of a resurgence of this more soulful sound with artists
like Frank Ocean.
Overall, IV Play is a decent
album that should work for The-Dream’s fans and those that like pop/R&B,
but after strong albums like Love vs. Money and Love
King this just feels disappointing (plus, most of the best songs are the
deeper cuts and bonus tracks). 3/5
Essential Tracks:
