Machine

D'Angelo & The Vanguard - Black Messiah



I believe I heard two songs from this on SNL, and they seemed pretty chill. I've heard really good things about this, and if it's anything like Voodoo I'll like it a lot.

Track 1: Ain't That Easy (4:49)
The gritty tones here are a really suprising change of pace from Voodoo. His voice is just as cool as I remember. Great opener.

Track 2: 1000 Deaths (5:49)
There's this religious sermon happening at the beggining of the track over this heavy drum and bass groove. The drums are oddly above everything else kinda gives off this roughness about the album.

Track 3: The Charade (3:20)
Those keyboards have like my favorite warped sound on them. The cascading vocals that were just happening were really interesting. Is that sitar? Nice.

Track 4: Sugah Daddy (5:02)
Loving that simple piano line. Slow and steady more and more instrumentation is being added around his vocals. Gives the track this sort of upward momentum.

Track 5: Really Love (5:44)
Oh those strings are beautiful. Nice little guitar interlude over this sample of a girl speaking in Spanish. I believe this is one of the ones from SNL, and it's by far my favorite so far.

Track 6: Back To The Future (Part I) (5:22)
I like his brand of very minimalist arrangements giving the songs air most R&B artists don't do, silence is a huge component to the songwriting. More good ****.

Track 7: Till It's Done (Tutu) (3:51)
Snare rolls>>>>>
By far my fav vocal melodies on the album so far.

Track 8: Prayer (4:32)
The synths on this album are great too, they've been keeping my attention throughout even though they're in the backround. Liked that one a bit.

Track 9: Betray My Heart (5:55)
Nice opening. This one is a little too low key not horrible though.

Track 10: The Door (3:08)
Oh yeah I'm loving this one. The chords are just ones that really get me for some reason.

Track 11: Back To The Future (Part II) (2:24)
I can't get over all the vocals on this album they sound amazing. Really solid little song.

Track 12: Another Life (5:58)
Piano sounds really ****ing great. Reminds me of the third track with that sitar. This one has a vaguely Stevie vibe to it especially in the vocal melodies.

Final Verdict: Not nearly as impressed as I was with Voodoo, but it was still certainly an enjoyable listen. A little overrated imo based on the reviews I've seen, but not bad at all.

7/10

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