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Sunday, January 31, 2016

LP Review | Charlie Puth - Nine Track Mind

Charlie Puth
Nine Track Mind
Atlantic
Release date: January 29, 2016

By Shawal Ras


The sappy voice behind one of last year's biggest hits 'See You Again', Charlie Puth, has released his debut album, Nine Track Mind, and somehow, it fails to launch him properly.
Wrapped in freakishly loud yellow booklet and 13 songs, the album, which I anticipated to be great (judging by his EP, Some Type of Love), fails to connect me and him, musically and creatively. 

When I heard 'See You Again', his amazing vocal got me super excited. It's soft, mellow, and can easily melt anyone's heart whenever he sings. But, apparently, that's not enough. 

Throughout the album's 41-minutes play, I'm not sure where to focus (he even sings about his confusion in the eighth track: "oh left, right left, right left" - LOL). The album itself is a collection of plain pop songs that you'll forget right after, hmm, one day. 

Like what I said in the review for his EP, I kinda expect him to dive into the pop/soul territory ('I Won't Tell A Soul' and 'Suffer), maybe a little hint of Motown ('Marvin Gaye' feat. Meghan Trainor), or y'know, a bit of R&B. 

But I'm not saying the whole album is bad per se. My fav: club banger 'We Don't Talk Anymore', a track Puth did with Selena Gomez, is sexy, catchy, and worthy of a possible summer hit. He might want to release this by April or early May, combine with a flirtatious music video. Take note!

Whatever it is, I'm hoping he'd do a much cohesive pop record for his sophomore effort. Nine Track Mind is certainly not great, but I still have a high hope for this fella. He got the whole package (voice + image + public persona), he just needs the right push and the right aim. 

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.