Fresh from committing crimes against the English language with his chart-topping single Marvin Gaye – a collaboration with Meghan “All About That Bass” Trainor that co-opted the soul giant’s name into one of the more grammatically cavalier refrains of recent times – Charlie Puth releases his debut album. But there are no repeats of such lyrical misdemeanours here – instead the 24-year-old Puth errs on the side of caution. Taking cues from classic R&B, his subtly retro record makes few concessions to the present day, and the ones that are there feel perfunctory: Losing My Mind, for example, begins with a looped soul sample that quickly recedes to make way for yet more crooning. But while his traditionalism can feel staid (even Ed Sheeran, Puth’s UK equivalent when it comes to lovelorn beta-male balladeers, takes a risk once in a while), the standard of his songwriting is consistently high, and his central theme – romantic obsession that verges on the masochistic – makes for a record that softly burns.
