Treading water. It’s a crime so many in the music industry commit in the pursuit of long-awaited fame and acclaim. As an artist becomes synonymous and widely familiarised with a particular brand or approach to a genre, it feels as if they often play themselves into this one-dimensional corner, allowing their careers to thinly boil down into a singular definition. Few artists fit the bill as harmoniously as singer, songwriter Bryson Tiller. Capturing the hearts of fans worldwide back in 2015 with his debut album ‘T R A P S O U L’, Tiller would associate himself with this promised blend of current trap rap influences, pampered with the vintage charm and enriching qualities of soul. The only issue I found myself having with his rendition of the niche marriage, was that Tiller never felt suited to bear the burden of such an ambitious cross over. The ‘soul’ portion of the product always felt more like a fraudulent marketing strategy, as I found Tiller would struggle to present anything in the way of originality. Something that would suggest his inability to break the conventional mould of the r&b countless other unidentifiable crooners was publishing.
His newest album ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ is presented as a celebration of all things ‘T R A P S O U L’. From its marketing to roll-out, to even its sonic identity, ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ is set up for failure, as Tiller sets out to ‘please’ us with what is effectively an identical twin of his humble beginnings. Whilst I can see the immediate appeal to Tiller’s lifelong fans simply ebbing off the material, all that is revealed to me, listen after listen is the need to question who asked for this? With three years separating Tiller’s previous release, I would’ve hoped he’d added some fresh tools to his repertoire, evolved in some way, or gained a sense of identity, yet ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ feels every bit as hollow as its predecessors. How Tiller has managed to effectively rip himself off by crafting something so shamelessly veiled as a replica is beyond me, and the fact that it feels just as shallow now as it did the first time is even more bewildering.
The album’s opening track, ‘Years Go By’, sees Tiller place all his eggs in one basket, as every subsequent track thrives off recycling a painfully homogenous blueprint. What little creativity there is feels all but devoured by the intrusive hi-hats that dominate the mix. Swallowing offensively bland synths, and a nondescript Tiller, audiences are greeted by some of the most bog-standard arrangements within the industry. With nothing in the way of a dominant hook, or a revealing sense of intimacy in the lyrics, the track is simply case one in what feels like the end result of an artificial intelligence’s understanding of music.
I get the sense that the removal of organic processes and appreciation for ambitious creation is something that is adopted unanimously throughout the album given just how lazy and indistinct everything feels. We have laughably ironic ‘Things Change’ where Tiller is placed in an apologetic light as he finds himself filled with remorse regarding his infidelity. Sure it’s a little cute how the situation plays out with its reconciliation, but what exactly does the track express sonically? This material is nothing new or foreign within the Tiller discography and it feels like each and every iteration of his melancholy awakening is just a carbon copy of the last. At this point in his career, it feels like his overly performative approach has all but dried up, yet Tiller exhibits no desire to slow down or an intent to aspire to something greater.
Tiller’s loyalty to convention and the roots he is all but too familiar with feels as if it is never once contested, as he slumps into this moody aesthetic as if it were routine. Knowing there is, and always will be demand for his particular brand, it feels as if Tiller utterly wastes any residual potential coasting by doing the bare minimum on ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’. We have the track ‘Sorrows’ which boiled down, is essentially the bastard child of all of the most trivial and superficial characteristics of r&b fused into this evaporating audio apparition. I will give kudos to the crooner for injecting at least some level of passion of potency into his performance, yet he is near non-existent at points as it feels as if he has been pit against the overblown production in an eternal struggle.
The immediate follow up to what might be Tiller’s most convincing and engaging performance on the album, the lead single ‘Inhale’, pulls a complete 180. Where ‘Sorrows’ is faulted by just how dense everything is, being crammed into such close proximity, ‘Inhale’ is so deconstructed and baron it barely registers as an actual song. Tiller’s minimal presence makes him such a non-factor he never truly leaves a stamp of lasting influence on the song. Partnered with the track’s production, which contains a sample of Mary J. Blige’s ‘Not Gon’ Cry’ (the most soul we are ever fed throughout the album), and these clunky, off-kilter synths, and the end result is a clusterfuck of elements that all function separately, yet in conjunction, are better off forgotten.
Though I find a great deal of ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ essential runs as the result of subscribing to all of r&b’s most generic and forgettable elements, I appreciate whenever Tiller throws a spanner into the works, regardless of how scarce those moments may be. Though nothing groundbreaking, hearing those zany, extraterrestrial synths on ‘I’m Ready For You’ is a breath of fresh air and a much-needed intermission from an otherwise comatose inducing listen. Like a fleck of brightness in a droning sea of colourless montage, Tiller isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but it sticks out for all the right reasons. It really feels like one of the only moments of true experimentation on the record as everything else just screams commercial security.
Despite just how criminally lazy this copy and paste album is, yet another redeemable highlight is ‘Outta Time’ with Drake. This is almost a miraculous success given my doubts regarding the duo. In theory, Drake would be the last person I’d want on an already monotone and one-dimensional album on this scale, yet here he outshines Tiller at his own game. In a stage in his career where Drake has become content sacrificing his craft to please the masses, we catch a glimpse of the Drake of old with his sulking delivery and deflating phrases. Concerned with their own detrimental treatment in their respective relationships, the two mourn their sorrows. Tiller can’t be granted the same praise as his counterpart here, slathered in synthetic manipulation, and playing second fiddle to an on-form Drake, inevitably condemns him to the baron depths of the tracks sparse production. As if he were a stranger on his own song.
Outside of these scarce highlights, what exactly is there to gain from such a bareboned offering? With each listen of ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ all I hear is the product of Bryson copy-pasting a formula that is vaguely reminiscent of his proclaimed inspirations, yet just inoffensive enough to captivate the largest audience. It feels like you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as nothing here presents anything that hasn’t previously been featured within the Tiller discography. Tracks such as ‘Always Forever’ are just as much of a nondescript blank canvas as ‘Keep Doing What You’re Doing’ yet Tiller finds the will to include both in the final cut. At a tight ten tracks, there really is no room for mistakes, yet I feel like Tiller bombards me with this half-baked filler that I truly and honestly don’t perceive as polished and finalised material.
A project like ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ demands audience attention. Not because it is an intricate or nuanced listen in which its microscopic parts work cohesively to form some bold sound, but because you may not even notice its transitions given just how deviously it all blends together. Tiller comes off as an ignorant figure, unwilling to change his ways here, as none of the material on ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ challenges him. Heading into the project I must admit I was dubious. Given just how underwhelming the teaser material was, I had reason to believe Tiller wouldn’t exactly pull out all the stops to wow us on a monumental scale, and that’s exactly what ‘A N N I V E R S A R Y’ feels like. A calculated listen that celebrates Tiller beating a dead horse through an abysmally misleading fusion. This is toothless and generic to the core, as I find myself searching all over in my attempts to find even the slightest indentation of interest or growth – not the first of occasions within the Tiller discography.
A N N I V E R S A R Y – Bryson Tiller – 3/10
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