Chaz Bear’s down-tempo project abandons the almost-rock of last album What For? and replaces it with indie-R&B, reminiscent of his 2011 take on 1980s groove classic Saturday Love. When it works, it’s easy to imagine Drake borrowing some of these muffled rhythms and muted pianos for his latest mixtape. Unfortunately, Bear can’t rely on the strength of Drizzy’s personality to lift the weaker songs and when he reaches for the Auto-Tune, it becomes difficult to engage with his distant vocals. It’s Bear’s most consistent work to date, though, and the best songs have a haunted wistfulness that is impossible to forget.
