dvsn — hey, it's a purposefully mysterious drake-adjacent toronto r&b sensation

https://soundcloud.com/dvsndvsn

it's hard to think of a new r&b artist who could be more anti-ilx hivemind, at least in terms of presentation. whatever is going on here overlaps so neatly with the weeknd's initial blueprint that it's almost kind of quaint, actually.

but despite all the ways this project could go poorly i think the first three songs are pretty great. it's a diff aesthetic for contemporary r&b but still feels modern & it's executed well, which maybe isn't surprising cuz nineteen85, who i guess is the only person publicly attached to this stuff, has a bunch of pretty great tracks (or beats at least) under his belt.

the anonymity of the project is probably a posture in the way so much fully-formed "underground" music is nowadays but because the songs themselves are throwbacky that we don't know who the dvsn "is" sort of helps the songs feel like some 90s r&b song you heard somewhere and had to shazam. there's this neat kinda thing happening (ymmv) where the songs are deeply reverent towards vocally-dominated R&B but the vocalist isn't really that central to the tracks.

I listened to one of these songs and hated it so much

'the line' is v good imo ... i posted in the R&B thread awhile back

it is incredibly obnoxious w/r/t presentation. but in terms of songwriting & vocals its leagues better than weeknd ever was

that said i am eying it suspiciously

this is way more directly indebted to 90's r&b than weeknd

like, the backing vocals on 'too deep'

flopson otm

musically it has very little to do with the weekend, altho this guy's vocals have the same sort of pleasant blankness as abel's. but in terms of the other stuff, it's all practically the same.

This guy's blankness is of another kind though. There's an intensity to Aubrey's and Abel's blankness that comes across as personality and I'm not hearing that in here - yet. Not saying they won't blow up though. They probably will. Also hearing a bit of RnBiebz in this.

oh yeah "the line" was really difficult to endure. on second listen there are parts of it i like but i wish it were 90% shorter

which is maybe why i'm cool with "too deep" but regardless these seem like deliberately half-written songs, like i've just walked in on them already playing at a party

not down

that i'm the only inc. stan on the planet and also am really into this doesn't surprise me

i like too deep. does explicit sexual lyrics without being obnoxious or like the work of someone who you suspect is (or wants you to view them as) a complete a-hole. but does sound like a million songs i heard in the 90s. but without the passion or gravitas or something that makes me feel it is more than just an exercise or a walm up of some sort.

this is just fine i guess but try playing that new kehlani song right after it and it will make you want to burn toronto to the ground

i don't think 'the line' seems half written!

too bad!

that i'm the only inc. stan on the planet and also am really into this doesn't surprise me

― J0rdan S., Monday, December 7, 2015 7:13 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this makes sense in that this sucks in the exact same way that Inc. does.

haha. i love inc. looking forward to listening to this while plotting my next breakup :[

this is obv better than The Inc

or the Line is better than any of their songs at any rate

this is just fine i guess but try playing that new kehlani song right after it and it will make you want to burn toronto to the ground

― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Monday, December 7, 2015 8:37 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

seriously!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYbhZreprc

whoops looks like he put out all his good songs before the album

"Too deep"'s direct bite of the "so anxious" drums really bugs me for some reason

this is really boring. my ears only perked up at the elliott smith interpolation, which is both lol corny and the most melodically interesting part of the record

"do it well" is really good

the first jessie ware album is my recent touchstone for a record where all the best songs were released as singles which results in the album feeling like a letdown even tho if you just picked it up with no context you would think it was pretty good. that's how i feel about this one i think.

i like this Jordan, you aren't alone.