On Avant’s fourth album, the singer gives his fans more of the smooth, seductive, romantic songs they've come to expect from him. Rarely do albums that use a variety of producers have a cohesive feel to them, but there's one thing that keeps Director from sounding like a mish-mash of tracks that were lumped together: Avant's strong voice. Also noteworthy is that he manages to make sensual songs without being cheap or trashy, a skill many of his R&B and Hip-Hop contemporaries have yet to master.
A Hopeless Romantic
On the opening track of Avant's Director, he sets the tone for the entire album with a song called “So Many Ways.” On it, he sings:
Take a trip to the moon, just me and you baby, then we’ll shine on the Earth, I’ll show the world what you’re worth.
With those words, Avant establishes himself as a hopeless romantic, someone who's in love with being in love. And it's this attitude that permeates the entire album.
On much of the album Avant plays the role of the devoted good guy. However, the first (unofficial) single, “4 Minutes,” is about a man given a short amount of time to plead his case to a fed up lover who’s packing up & moving out. At one point, he sings:
“I can’t let you go baby, you’re my everything lady, the reason I smile, and the reason I talk baby, the reason I breathe, the only one for me. You can’t go through with this, if you left me, my life wouldn’t exist.”
Now that’s begging.
Unfortunately, "4 Minutes" (which is exactly four minutes long) leaves things unresolved, much like the chapters of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series of songs -- which "4 Minutes" happens to sound somewhat like.
Take a trip to the moon, just me and you baby, then we’ll shine on the Earth, I’ll show the world what you’re worth.
With those words, Avant establishes himself as a hopeless romantic, someone who's in love with being in love. And it's this attitude that permeates the entire album.
On much of the album Avant plays the role of the devoted good guy. However, the first (unofficial) single, “4 Minutes,” is about a man given a short amount of time to plead his case to a fed up lover who’s packing up & moving out. At one point, he sings:
“I can’t let you go baby, you’re my everything lady, the reason I smile, and the reason I talk baby, the reason I breathe, the only one for me. You can’t go through with this, if you left me, my life wouldn’t exist.”
Now that’s begging.
Unfortunately, "4 Minutes" (which is exactly four minutes long) leaves things unresolved, much like the chapters of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series of songs -- which "4 Minutes" happens to sound somewhat like.
Good Guy/Bad Boy
Another bad-boy song is "Lie About Us,” a duet with Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. The song is about a secret relationship a man has behind his woman's back, and him stringing the other woman along by promising her that he's going to leave his woman soon. His game is indeed tight as he sings:
“Baby won't you wait just a little bit longer … please don’t say you wanna give up, how do I tell her that I'm fallin' in love, and I know you're waiting patiently for that day that we no longer have to lie about us.”
And speaking of the Pussycat Dolls, also included on this album is Avant's excellent remix of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Stickwitu,” which he appears on. It's a nice, innocuous song, and much better than anything the Dolls have released thus far, (not that that's saying much).
“With You,” about loyalty to one’s lover, is a catchy, up-tempo number that has hip-hop influenced music without leaning too much in that direction. The same goes for “Exclusive,” which features the rapper Lloyd Banks and isn't just smooth, it’s smoove.
The first official single, “You Know What,” is a lustful, bouncy narrative about hooking up with an ex-lover, and is descriptive, yet stops short of vulgar explicitness.
“Baby won't you wait just a little bit longer … please don’t say you wanna give up, how do I tell her that I'm fallin' in love, and I know you're waiting patiently for that day that we no longer have to lie about us.”
And speaking of the Pussycat Dolls, also included on this album is Avant's excellent remix of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Stickwitu,” which he appears on. It's a nice, innocuous song, and much better than anything the Dolls have released thus far, (not that that's saying much).
“With You,” about loyalty to one’s lover, is a catchy, up-tempo number that has hip-hop influenced music without leaning too much in that direction. The same goes for “Exclusive,” which features the rapper Lloyd Banks and isn't just smooth, it’s smoove.
The first official single, “You Know What,” is a lustful, bouncy narrative about hooking up with an ex-lover, and is descriptive, yet stops short of vulgar explicitness.
Strong Vocals
"You Know What," produced by Jermaine Dupri, features the rapper Lil Wayne, and although the rap segment doesn’t detract from the song, although it doesn’t really enhance it either. Speaking of Dupri, on various songs, Avant collaborates with superstar producers like Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, Bryan Cox (Jagged Edge) and the Underdogs (Omarion/Marques Houston), and as you might expect, the production quality is very high throughout.
But even more importantly, the singing is on-point throughout. Superstar producers tend to overshadow the artists in today's R&B and Hip-Hop, but never do the producers become the stars of the show here; Avant's buttery, silky voice always remains the main attraction.
If there's a weakness to Director, it's that the subject matter of love and sex is overdone. The drama on Director breaks no new ground; in fact most of the subject matter has been uttered on R&B and Soul albums for more than three decades. But although he's re-telling some old stories, Avant's sophisticated, modern-day approach to the topics is worth listening to.
But even more importantly, the singing is on-point throughout. Superstar producers tend to overshadow the artists in today's R&B and Hip-Hop, but never do the producers become the stars of the show here; Avant's buttery, silky voice always remains the main attraction.
If there's a weakness to Director, it's that the subject matter of love and sex is overdone. The drama on Director breaks no new ground; in fact most of the subject matter has been uttered on R&B and Soul albums for more than three decades. But although he's re-telling some old stories, Avant's sophisticated, modern-day approach to the topics is worth listening to.
