NEVER ENOUGH

This is Daniel’s first record in four years – four years since his last project, 2019’s CASE STUDY 01, after he was ‘cancelled’ – and he released several singles before the album, notably missing the hit “Please Do Not Lean”. The primary singles ‘Do You Like Me?’, ‘Let Me Go’, and ‘Valentina’ retain the signature hypnotic rhythms, fluid mechanics, and sensuality that Daniel has become known for. ‘Do You Like Me?’ features a bright and breezy guitar run, psychedelic bass work, his signature bedroom-level percussion, and a minimalist but effective vocal performance. ‘Let Me Go’ is something different unto itself: a subdued and quiet track, his vocal inaudible in the mix, lurking like an unsuspecting stalker through a darkened street. ‘Valentina’ is a bright, then contrastingly downtempoed mid-90s R&B sound with a persistent drum machine rolling beneath a sampled guitar figure, sounding like recent Lil Nas X hits. The standout track on the record is ‘Always’, with a minimalist, isolate organ melody, softly sung vocals, and understated accompaniment that is, in short, an RB classic. Not all tracks on the record are hits, though: while the title of ‘Homiesexual’ is intriguing, its existence as an album track rings hollow, merely a space-filler that’s been beaten to pieces by an unfortunately meandering feature from Ty Dolla $ign; and ‘Buyer’s Remorse’ (featuring Omar Apollo and an autotuned Daniel) is not only the shortest track on Daniel’s longest album to date, but just lacklustre, sounding more like a toy for young kids to play with Apollo on to pass the time. These blemishes aside though, the album is a solid return for Daniel, and with the heartfelt longevity of its best tracks and solid performance by the artist, I hope he continues to thrive as one of the RB greats.

DANIEL CAESAR - NEVER ENOUGH

RATING - 8.2/10

FAVORITE TRACKS - Always, Ocho Rios

GENRE - R&B