1. PartyNextDoor’s P3 (Album Review) – A Confident, Soulful Sophomore Offering with Great Moments
Ja’hron Brathwaite, popularly known as PartyNextDoor, is one of the relatively few R&B boys allowed to play in the pop sandbox. Largely due to his OVO-affiliations, PartyNextDoor has been able to make his mark on the mainstream music landscape. Most high profile instance of this are his writing credits on Rihanna and Drake’s song of the summer / year ‘Work’, but his creative footprints are also littered all over Drake’s latest album, Views. But we think PartyNextDoor makes his best, most-inspired music on his own, when he’s left to his introspective, experimental R&B devices. This is pretty clear on his highly anticipated sophomore album, PartyNextDoor 3 (P3).
An Ontario native, PartyNextDoor was signed to OVO Sound in 2013 and released his first EP, PartyNextDoor in July 2013. His debut, full-length album, PartyNextDoor TWO was released a year later in July 2014. Over the years, PartyNextDoor has continually experimented with and refined his sound, both in his own music and via song-writing opportunities for others. PartyNextDoor3 is the product of this process of growth and experimentation.
Lyrically and sonically, P3 showcases a more confident PartyNextDoor. He sticks to his favourite topics of troubled relationships, infidelity in love and sexual intimacy, but is less braggy on P3, showing more thoughtful introspection on songs like Only You and Joy, while showing a sense of self-assuredness. For example on Don’t Know How he sings, “I’ll make sure that you’re not disappointed / Especially knowing this is all you wanted”.
The album bounces between several genre influences for its sound – Only You and Not Nice features strong reggae and dancehall influences; Joy is soulful and acoustic; and songs like the opener High Hopes and Brown Skin are more contemporary R&B. The songs in the latter category range from some with hip hop, almost trappy beats, to the kind of dark room music The Weeknd became popular for.
P3 follows the recent trend towards longer sets with 16 tracks and at times, loses momentum, probably for this reason, but is overall a great listen for the true R&B fan. It is packed with moments that flex PND’s brilliance and ability to produce a catchy tune. Early faves are Not Nice (reminiscent of Work, but is its better cousin, in our humblest opinion), High Hopes, Joy, Brown Skin and the lead single with a Drake feature, Come and See Me. PND is hoping that he can leave behind the events of this year, which he contends was largely blighted by mis-reporting and mis-understanding and be judged for the artist he is (if you aren’t sure what incident we’re referring to here, see our article on the incident here). Listen to PartyNextDoor 3 below.
