"It's easy to appreciate his way with a hook, and his vocal range remains impressive beneath all the effects. You might wonder if a Tobias Jesso Jr.-style future writing for other artists is in the cards. Plus, he's surrounded by talented people: An album with Prince's guitarist Wendy Melvoin on several songs and Shawn Everett on the mix is guaranteed to groove and sparkle in all the right ways."
"A problem is that sombr's lyrics have this strange attitude towards women (in awe of, in fear of) that lands him closer to " Smart Girls" than "God Only Knows." There's now a Hot 100 hit with this lyric: "I don't want the children of another man to have the eyes of the girl I won't forget." That line caught on for a reason, if not a good one,"
"In "Come Closer," he's falling over himself for a femme fatale, saying, "You're the only one I want/And I ain't one of your pawns." He's more enjoyable with endearingly corny wordplay like "I miss the days when we were crushing on each other/Now you're just crushing my soul, my lover." But this trick also has its limits, getting overly cute on songs like the shuffle "Dime" ("You're a ten and I'm a man that needs a dime")"
Sombr delivers tightly produced pop with strong hooks, clear vocal range beneath effects, and contributions from notable collaborators like Wendy Melvoin and Shawn Everett. The music features bold, upfront vocals and polyphonic choruses that invite comparisons to classic pop craftsmanship. Catchy arrangements and slick mixing give several tracks a glossy, rhythmic sparkle. Lyrically, several songs reveal a troubling ambivalence toward women, veering between awe and fear and occasionally lapsing into mean-spirited or unintentionally humorous lines. Some tracks break from the yearning breakup formula and explore different textures, while others rely on corny wordplay that sometimes undermines emotional sincerity.
Read at Pitchfork
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]