On August 25, Toronto R&B singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar blessed ears nationwide with his debut album, “Freudian.” The singer began his music career with the previously released EPs “Praise Break” and “Pilgrim’s Paradise,” but his breakout hit “Get You” featuring the lovely Kali Uchis was what sparked his rise to fame. Coincidentally, the aforementioned song is the first track of the new album, and it only gets better. With features from the mysterious H.E.R and The Internet’s front woman Syd (who have both recently dropped new projects of their own), “Freudian” could easily be on everyone’s radar for a hot minute.
In its entirety, the album is quite majestic. It’s a bit reminiscent of Frank Ocean’s “Blond,” especially with the final and title track of the album. The song’s interlude will sound familiar to Ocean fans as it resembles the style of “Blond’s” final track, “Futura Free,” with the flow of the autotuned rap and “mama” being referenced after each line. Caesar’s lyrics will hit you in the heart too, like the third track, “Hold Me Down,” where he sings: “First you love me, then you leave me on the pavement.” (Fun fact: the second half of the song interpolates gospel artist Kirk Franklin’s “Hold Me Now”). Caesar’s lyrics on “Blessed” will make you want to croon to your lover (whether existent or not) with lines like, “Yes, I’m a mess, but I’m blessed to be stuck with you.” Whether it’s a cappella arrangements, soft piano playing, or woozy beats that are to your liking, this album has it all.
My personal favorites on this album would have to be “Neu Roses (Transgressor’s Song)” and “Transform” featuring Charlotte Day Wilson. The intro in “Neu Roses” is absolutely beautiful but I’m a bit biased about it since I used to be in an a cappella group myself. I might even take a stab at recreating it one day. In “Transform,” Daniel’s smooth tones and falsetto blend perfectly with Charlotte’s sultry interjection of a verse. The beat is also amazing — something you can really bob your head to, with some sick guitar riffs near the end.
“Freudian” is a huge step up from Daniel Caesar’s previous works, but they all share a common theme of church influence, not with the actual subjects of the songs, but how they’re arranged. His voice remains silky smooth, enough to put you in a vibe, but not to put you to sleep.
This album (yes, the whole album) is perfect for late night drives, and — er, late nights. I give this five stars and could give it more if possible. Some may say it was too good for it to only be 10 tracks, which is very true, but for his first album, it’s absolute perfection.
Amariyah, 16, attends DeKalb School of the Arts and still believes Cardi B was snubbed at the 2017 BET Awards for Best Female Rapper.
