Review: Musiq Soulchild - "Luvanmusiq"

The first single on this album, "B.U.D.D.Y," may be a mid-tempo, hip hop-influenced joint, but don't get it twisted; Luvanmusiq is an album is rooted in traditional R&B and is meant, for the most part, as bedroom music. "B.U.D.D.Y." (aka "Buddy") may be an exception to the rule, but most songs on the album are ballads that are best played in an environment where there's a romantic mood. The album's a bit one-dimensional in that regard, but if you're already a Musiq Soulchild fan, you probably won't be disappointed. However, if you're new to his music, you may or may not be impressed with his style of love music.

The fourth album by Musiq Soulchild, entitled Luvanmusiq, is essentially a repeat of his first three albums. This is both good and bad; if you're a fan of his soft, deliberate vocal style, it's good news because that style is fully intact here. On the other hand, the fact that his vocal style hasn't evolved much also indicates that Musiq has shown little creative growth as a singer.

One of Musiq's trademarks is songs with run-on titles, like "takeyouthere" and "greatestlove," so it's almost ironic that the album is almost like one big musical run-on sentence. The song tempos change occasionally, but by the time the last of the 12 songs finishes playing, it's hard to pick out songs that were memorable enough to merit worth listening to again. The song "Buddy," in which Musiq tries to persuade a woman to get to know him better, is far and away the album's best song and everything else pales in comparison. But among the other material, "betterman," about a woman who's good enough to make a guy want to go through some self improvement; and a couple of uptempo songs, "makeyouhappy" and "ridiculous," are pretty pleasing.

Also pleasing is the strong songwriting. Although his vocals are sometimes so-so, Musiq remains one of the better R&B songwriters in the business today. His narrative style, in which he tells a story through music, is usually on-point and the tales he weaves are engrossing. Although Luvanmusiq rates pretty low in the excitement and thrills departments, if you take the time to listen to it repeatedly, it's an album whose subtle romantic charm grows on you.