DRAM&B

Album review

Names and titles mean a lot to DRAM. When he needed a clean break from the happy-go-lucky style of Big Baby D.R.A.M., he changed his moniker to Shelley FKA DRAM and dug deep into his music's vintage R&B influences on Shelley, then continued that journey with the ambitious confessions of What Had Happened Was… (which he released as DRAM). On DRAM&B, he seeks to bridge the gap between the anything-goes creativity of his early days and his later serious soulfulness. He's often most successful when he's head over heels: The sunbeam-like love songs "Of Course" and "Marry Me" blend Shelley's reverence and his debut's charm with a light touch and tight focus. Some of Big Baby D.R.A.M.'s playfulness resurfaces on the flirty electro-funk of "Feels Good," which radiates an elemental joy that the two albums before it sometimes lacked. Likewise, he's as gifted with a creative metaphor as ever; when he croons "Can't get enough of that mac 'n' cheese action" over the thick synth bass and gooey harmonies on "Foot Prints," he sounds as devoted as when he sings "You're still my valentine/You're still my crush." And, as on Big Baby D.R.A.M., he allows himself to try on different sounds for size. The alluring Latin pop of "Te Amo" would've been too far afield of Shelley and What Had Happened Was…'s classic soul vibes, yet it's an equally seductive showcase for DRAM's powerhouse vocals. While he still downplays rap's role in his music -- the finale "When She Call" is the most hip-hop-oriented song here, largely because of Ellis Quinn's bars -- DRAM&B ventures into more modern-sounding productions on "Standing"'s hushed, circling meditations on doubt. When he sings about how hard it is to "settle down," it could just as easily apply to his music as to a relationship. Though he's sticking with the DRAM name -- for now, anyway -- he's redefining himself once again on DRAM&B. At ten songs long, it might feel somewhat slight compared to his previous work, but it's still a worthy balance of his depth, playfulness, and originality.

© Heather Phares /TiVo