Daniel Caesar is a 30 year old singer/songwriter from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada releasing his first few EPs Birds of Paradise as well as Praise Break & Pilgrim’s Paradise followed by his independently released debut Freudian through his own imprint Golden Child Recordings & a moderate sophomore effort Case Study 01 although “Frontal Lobe Muzik” remains a hidden gem. His previous album Never Enough marked his major label debut under Republic Records to widespread acclaim & his 4th studio LP looks to do the same.
Sampha joins Daniel for the gospel intro “Rain Down” asking for God to pour his blessings all over them whereas the singer/songwriter & neo-soul lead single “Have a Baby (With Me)” additionally pulls from smooth soul singing about impregnation. The next single “Call on Me” blends psychedelic neo-soul & indie rock advising to call him if one needs help getting by while “Baby Blue” featuring his father Norwill Simmons sings about his relationship with God.
“Root of All Evil” continues the heavy religious themes referencing 1 Timothy 6:10 just before “Who Knows?” reaches the halfway point singing about feeling like a total coward hiding in a disguise. The final single “Moon / Violence” featuring Bon Iver eclectically pulls from indie folk, psychedelic soul, singer/songwriter, bedroom pop, smooth soul & psychedelic folk asking who’s gonna be their Jesus while the bedroom pop inspired “Touching God” confesses to the feeling of worthlessness without the fame.
Nearing Son of Spergy‘s conclusion, Sign of the Times” sings that he’s stronger now than he ever was & remembering Frank Ocean’s brother Ryan Breaux who lost his life in a car accident while “Emily’s Song” dedicates itself to his ex-girlfriend that he was seeing in the late 2010s thanking her for helping him see clearer. “No More Loving (On Women I Don’t Love)” feels more like a 646yf4t track since his brother’s taking up a good chunk of it vocally contradicting the “Who Knows?” outro & “Sins of the Father” featuring Bon Iver closes Daniel’s 2nd major label project with a 2-parter singing about his relationship with his biological father & God.
Inspired by a reconciliation between himself & his own parents, Daniel Caesar embraces a prominent singer/songwriter & bedroom pop direction compared to Never Enough‘s heavy lenience towards contemporary R&B & neo-soul resulting in his most stripped-back body of work. You’re still getting hints of those previously mentioned styles to a lesser extent on Son of Purgy & it’s predecessor’s psychedelic/smooth soul undertones, but the alternative R&B elements get phased out in favor of indie folk & gospel tackling themes of masculinity along with faith & self-importance.
Score: 4/5
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