Album Review: Daniel Caesar, ‘Never Enough’

Six years removed from the magic of “Best Part,” his Grammy-winning H.E.R. duet, Daniel Caesar stands as one of the most perplexing acts in the contemporary R&B/pop arena. Arguably the most talented all-around musician of his class, the Canadian singer-songwriter fumbled the momentum of 2017’s Freudian by way of his asinine defense of YesJulz’smisogynoir-soaked comments, understandably alienating a significant portion of his core audience. Yet, the “Get You” crooner has maintained and, in several ways, increased his level of success. Two years ago, he scored his first U.S. No. 1 hit with the 4x Grammy-nominated “Peaches” alongside Justin Bieber and Giveon, his sophomore album became his highest-charting set across Europe and North America at the time of its release, and he co-penned a Shawn Mendes-Justin Bieber duet that hit the Top 10 on both sides of the pond.

Never Enough, his major label debut, presents a Daniel Caesar who is obsessed with time. Now approaching 30 and having survived a global pandemic and nearly a decade of a professional music career, the “Love Again” singer is ready to take some time to reflect. He muses on the parallels between pivotal childhood moments and the current state of his career, he injects his ethereal gospel-rooted harmonies with notes of ‘70s soul and reggae to connect the breadth of his formative musical influences, and he explores the contradictions at the center of grappling with love and relationships from an admittedly broken place. Beginning “Ocho Rios,” which sources its name from a town in Jamaica (where Caesar’s family is from), and ending with “Unstoppable” which features background vocals from Jamaican reggae star Chronixx, Caesar’s sense of home and his younger years ground the introspection that spirals across the record. On “Toronto 2014,” he sings, “On the other side of TVs, hoping that they see me / But, they hardly see me / At least that's how I see things” — a succinct summary of the tension between his current stability and the time before the fame and scrutiny. “Cool” finds Caesar grappling with never feeling at home with himself. Self-seclusion and anxiety are his primary ways of playing it “cool,” and his vulnerable vocal performance against Daniel Migdal’s stirring strings tastefully conveys that drama.

When Caesar is focused on reflecting on his childhood and traversing the pathways of nostalgia, his lyricism is sharp. “Who runs the show who hands out the suspensions / I need a lesson in mishap prevention / Young boy who can't hear must feel / A masochist you know the deal,” he sings on the serpentwithfeet-featuring “Disillusioned.” When he succumbs to an odd kink for the lyrically absurd, we’re left with this selection from the bass-driven “Vincent Van Gogh”: “Used to be ugly / Now I'm a handsome, Charlie Manson / Wrapped in a Snuggie.” Never Enough is Caesar’s most lyrically uneven LP, but it is also his most experimental. Healthy doses of Auto-Tune, pitched-down vocals, and quirky spoken/rapped outros help create a soundscape much less insular and moody than Freudian or Case Study 01. “Shot My Baby” calls on the brooding blues of outlaw country, and the jaunty guitars of the Raphael Saadiq co-penned “Do You Really Like Me” angle the Grammy-winner towards a more straightforward pop lane.

Once Never Enough reaches its final track, the record confirms that Caesar shines brightest when he’s crafting love songs sprinkled with a dash of manipulation and a sprinkle of self-awareness. “Valentina” wields its sticky melody and percussive production to soundtrack Caesar encouraging a woman to cheat on her partner with him; “Homiesexual” finds him and Ty Dolla $ign joining forces for an irresistible ode to the pervasive toxicity of the male psyche. Stacked with some of the year’s best R&B cuts, Never Enough is a well-designed redemption arc for Daniel Caesar. His growth is palpable, but it is his gifted musical ear and knack for incredibly intricate melodic movements that make the record such a rewarding listen.

Key Tracks: “Valentina” | “Always” | “Shot My Baby” | “Homiesexual” | “Buyer’s Remorse”

Score: 76