Album Review: Usher - Looking 4 Myself (Deluxe Version)

Usher
Looking 4 Myself (Deluxe Version)
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

For an album entitled Looking 4 Myself, you could not be faulted for assuming that Usher would be creating a soul-searching record made in the wake of a highly publicized divorce and custody battle. Many a great pop record has been made under such circumstances, and after hearing first single "Climax" featuring one of Usher's most restrained and emotional vocals, singing despairingly about a relationship stuck in stasis, in my mind I was ready to be blown away by a completely new Usher. Disappointingly, "Climax" is a bit of a bait and switch. While there a few hints here and there of personal reflection and ruminations of how he got to where he is, Looking 4 Myself ultimately is nothing more than a well-produced pop album. Those glimpses of cracks in Usher's armor and willingness to use some edgier production tricks does mark the record as a interesting benchmark in his career, but mostly serves as a big "what could have been" when you look at the best tracks in isolation.

In an interview with Stylelist, Usher commented that he was working on an album of "Revolutionary Pop," reflecting his love for mixing up different styles of music. Well, he has certainly aligned himself with a vast army of the latest hip producers, including Diplo, Noah "40" Shebib, Swedish House Mafia, and stalwarts such as Danja, The Neptunes, will.i.am, and Rico Love; but instead of really mixing up styles of music into something new and original, Looking 4 Myself basically operates as a compendium of the latest trends in music. Featuring nods to dubstep, house, trance, and traditional R&B and hip-hop, the album touches base on as many genres as possible for the broadest reach. While this sounds like a slam against the album, and in theory I shouldn't really like the album at all, the breadth actually works in its favor. Where you don't really break much of the surface of who Usher is on these tracks, the genre-hopping at least keeps things fresh and moving.

No surprise to me, but Looking 4 Myself works the best when Usher does/tries something different. On the aforementioned "Climax," Usher teams up with Diplo and creates a classic single. Dispensing with Diplo and Usher's trademarked dance floor jams, "Climax" scales things back for both. Under a humming bed of burbling synths, subtle drum programming propels this haunting song about a stagnant relationship. Usher's voice is brutally honest and naked; you feel every ounce of pain and doubt he is experiencing. The song is all about mood and atmosphere, the builds are stunning in their use of silences, the track dropping out on several occasions.



Enlisting Drake and The Weeknd producer Noah "40" Shebib was a stroke of genius on Usher's part. "What Happened to U" doesn't necessarily sound like a Drake or The Weeknd track, but shares a sonic certainty to it. Lyrically it delves into the Drake-ian world of success and how it can cloud one's judgment and perspective, Usher reflecting on how he has all these material things but no one to share them with. Again, the music is subtle and smooth, with lots of multi-tracked vocals used as counterpoints.



"Sins of My Father" has a darker, old school swampy blues vibe to it, leaning heavily on a dubbed out bass line and chunky rhythms. Usher's voice veering back and forth between his lower register and a screeching falsetto.



Initially, The Neptunes' produced track "Twisted" struck me as almost a joke-Big Chill 60's throwback track, but the sheer looniness of the song wins you over, featuring some odd vocal sample snippets and throbbing bass line.



Danja throws everything but the dubstep sink at Usher and he matches him note for note. It surprised me how well Usher's voice melded with the harsh electronics and clattering percussion on "I Care For U."



"I.F.U." is a mid-tempo, slinky R&B jam which surprises with the addition of interesting violin lines winding throughout the track.



On these tracks, Usher seems looser and freer than he's ever been, and the experimentation emboldens his vocal performance. Unfortunately, nothing else on the record reaches the heights of these tracks. Which is not to say that the album falls off the rails at all, merely that the album becomes more predictable. There are no lack for hook heavy pop/R&B tracks. "Scream" is a throbbing club banger,



"Show Me" is a sparkling pop track with an infectious chorus,



and "Dive" is a soaring, Frank Ocean-like ballad.



The remainder of the album is fairly innocuous, neither offending, nor really making much of an impression. Title track "Looking 4 Myself" is pop-lite, and somehow took 7 people to write, including Empire of the Sun. And somehow, their usual flamboyance found no way to infect the track.



And the world really doesn't need anymore collaborations with will.i.am, though his contribution "Can't Stop Won't Stop" is not as embarrassing as it could have been. And the two, yes two collaborations with "it" EDM producers Swedish House Mafia barely register, and could easily have been discarded B-sides. Only "Euphoria" gets by with a fairly insistent rave-heavy synth attack.



Ultimately, I can't ignore Looking 4 Myself because, overall, it is a well-produced record, and has enough bright spots to make me want to see where Usher goes in the future. I know it is impossible in this day and age of Internet music for a record company to keep their hands off their investment, but, based on the outstanding tracks like "Climax" it would seem to warrant having Usher work with only one or possibly a couple of more producers in order to make a more cohesive statement. I know, that would be in a dream world, and this is merely a pop album when you get down to it. Looking 4 Myself doesn't really tell me much about Usher I don't already know, but it definitely makes me want to wait to find out.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.