"This ain't a models or a bottles in the club R&B song," Trey Songz declares on "The Sheets…Still," a midway track with a skeletal instrumental off his eponymous new LP, Tremaine the Album (his birth name is Tremaine Neverson). But anyone hoping that he'd follow that line with the sort of deep introspection that he seems to be alluding to will be disappointed. Instead he sings: "We do it, we don't need no music."
Trey Songz's latest LP is full of such juvenile clunkers. The 32-year-old, Virginia-born crooner whines about "Still kissing girls I don't love / Still stumbling out of the club," over an equally forgettable beat on "Playboy," and also boasts about "having sex with my number one fan / So why am I so nervous?" over bubbling synths and cushy keys on — you guessed it — "#1Fan." Worse still is "Nobody Else But You," which has an upbeat tempo but is still somehow monotonous, almost sleep-inducing.
Thankfully, a few cuts rise above mediocrity. "1x1" has a much more textured, catchy instrumental than most of the album's other tracks, sporting hooks and lyrics that, while by no means deep, are at least worth singing along to (which can't be said for many of these other songs). "What Are We Here For" is even more laudably bold thanks to its eccentric, futuristic instrumental, and "Picture Perfect" is lyrically refreshing, as Songz describes a girl that makes him earn her affection.
If only Songz had filled out Tremaine the Album with such stronger fare, it would be an LP worthy of bearing his name.
(Songbook/Atlantic)Trey Songz's latest LP is full of such juvenile clunkers. The 32-year-old, Virginia-born crooner whines about "Still kissing girls I don't love / Still stumbling out of the club," over an equally forgettable beat on "Playboy," and also boasts about "having sex with my number one fan / So why am I so nervous?" over bubbling synths and cushy keys on — you guessed it — "#1Fan." Worse still is "Nobody Else But You," which has an upbeat tempo but is still somehow monotonous, almost sleep-inducing.
Thankfully, a few cuts rise above mediocrity. "1x1" has a much more textured, catchy instrumental than most of the album's other tracks, sporting hooks and lyrics that, while by no means deep, are at least worth singing along to (which can't be said for many of these other songs). "What Are We Here For" is even more laudably bold thanks to its eccentric, futuristic instrumental, and "Picture Perfect" is lyrically refreshing, as Songz describes a girl that makes him earn her affection.
If only Songz had filled out Tremaine the Album with such stronger fare, it would be an LP worthy of bearing his name.