SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne says Bryson Tiller’s fourth studio album “was well worth the wait” in his Bryson Tiller album review.
It’s Christmas in April—a day R&B fans have had circled on their calendars. As the clock hit midnight, Lousiville, Kentucky singer-songwriter, Bryson Tiller, released his highly anticipated self-titled album Bryson Tiller, a follow up to his 2020 release A N N I V E R S A R Y. While the two projects are similar in a few ways, including having very few features, for the most part, they couldn’t be more different. Where A N N I V E R S A R Y had more of a traditional R&B sound, Tiller takes risks on his latest album with an eclectic selection of sounds as he explores multiple genres. The album reflects the changes in the Black music landscape since his last album, where genre-less music and blurring the lines between hip-hop and R&B is even more the norm. While he dabbled in that sparingly on A N N I V E R S A R Y, he does so generously on Bryson Tiller.
The album opens with the heavenly and ethereal “http:..” before going into “Attention” as Tiller gives us intimate storytelling over that unique R&B sound he’s known for as he sings about his woman grabbing his attention with her style.
Among the standout songs are “Persuasion” featuring Victoria Monét as the two get cheeky dancing around the subject of sex and desire. Then on “Ciao” he changes gears as raps over a drill beat. Then on “Rich Boy”, with a bouncy beat from Vinylz, Boi-1da, Ging and Allen Ritter, he once again navigates that fine line between hip-hop and R&B. Then right after that he switches it up again on “Random Access Memory”, featuring Clara La San. The song features the popular Jersey club sound as Tiller and La San look in the rearview mirror with her singing about wanting to find an older version of herself. There are multiple computer references throughout the song, including that PTSD inducing dial-up internet sound at the end. Fire. He even gets into his folk music bag on “Undertow” with its acoustic instrumentation before transitioning into an upbeat pop track “F4U” that would make Shawn Desman proud.
Aside from the previously released “CALYPSO”, “Outside” and “Whatever She Wants”, the most standout song on the project may very well be “No Thank You”. It features a simple, minimalist, laid back yet bouncy beat, as an equally laid back Tiller effortless floats on the beat with the melodies.
Simply put this album is fire. Still, fans who wanted A N N I V E R S A R Y 2.0 may be disappointed with the change in direction but he’s clearly not the same man and artist he was four years ago. Again, he takes risks sonically on this album but he does it well without making the project sound disjointed and inconsistent. He does a good job of balancing songs with thoughtful content (including songs about love) and more rachet content that’s just about having a good time. From the production and beat selection to the vocals and content, this album was well worth the wait.
Kevin Bourne, aka KB The Boss, is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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