Saturday, 25 January 2014

Jay Sean- Neon Album Review





















Album- Neon
Artist- Jay Sean

Once upon a time British singer songwriter Jay Sean was one of the rising stars of the worldwide music scene, with such hit songs as Down and Do You Remember. But with an album that didn’t match up to the stars singles success, and the long period between that release and a brand new album, Jay Sean has seemingly gone back down to the bottom of the music pile, with his latest record Neon only reaching 116 on the Billboard 200 and not even charting in his native country. But is Neon really that bad an album

Track 1- Neon

Title track and opening number Neon is a typical relationship driven pop number that is built around a simple guitar refrain and continuous drumbeat. The song finds Sean in a seemingly euphoric state where this girl makes his world seem like everything is neon, a sweet if bland pop message that is made equally more inoffensive by Sean’s simple vocal performance, which shows off some of his range nicely but also feels a bit boring in terms of the vocal layering and the slight use of Auto Tune. The production of the track seemingly tries to make this a powerful number, but unfortunately the drums and guitar just feels like a sound that was too easily created and lacks the originality that would make this a more exciting album opener.

3/5

Track 2- Luckiest Man

Another firmly pop driven affair, Luckiest Man is a straightforward love song from Sean where he sings of feeling lost after losing this girl, as when they were in that relationship he was really lucky. The message might be sweet and will please some of Sean’s female fans, but ultimately the lyrics of the song are based in bland clichés that make this a limp love song. The production value is powerful but the mixture of piano, heavy bass and slight synth touches feels like a simple love song sound designed to be something that would produce commercial success. Vocally, however, Sean is on better form, giving us a vocal based a little more in his higher register and which showcases the singer to better effect.

3/5

Track 3- Words

Beginning with a light vocal ‘ooh’ from Sean that signals this is another typical pop track, Words is another more guitar driven piece that is meant to act as more of a stadium sized stomper than the previous tracks. The song’s lyrics do tread into cliché sounding territory, but the message of being careful with the words you say as others can perhaps misinterpret them and be hurt is a strong message that is here wrapped around a catchy chorus. The songs light essence also allows for the singer to show off his vocal power and create a vocal performance that really builds and grabs the listener’s attention. The production does fail the song a little as the stadium sized pop sound edges towards commercial One Direction cast off territory, but this does bring the record into slightly stronger territory.

3.5/5

Track 4- Where You Are

Neon’s lead single, Where You Are is ultimately a light pop affair that could have been written and sung by a number of artists. The lyrics find Sean singing of how this girl is great and how he just wants to be where she is, but the lyrics are really bland and so heavily clichéd that you have a hard time believing him. Sean’s voice is charismatic but not enough to hide boy band clichés in the song, particularly in terms of the awful ‘yeahs’ and ‘oh’s’. The tracks production is equally bland, with the light pop guitar riff and the bass just having this just there tone that doesn’t excite the listener and makes the song an all-round no impression leaver.

2/5

Track 5- Guns and Roses

Guns and Roses finds Sean in another state of boy band driven guitar fodder, opening with an annoying ‘oh woah’ beginning that is pure stupidity. The song focuses on Sean singing of this girl who can drive him out of his mind, but if this girl loves him then it is worth it in the end. The singer’s soft voice brings out the love based sentiment nicely, but every lyric of the track seems like it has been pooled from the sea of past pop love songs. Keeping the production based in this guitar loop is nice in creating a soft setting that allows the lyrical message to shine, but it is also a sound that shows that Sean is missing a few boy band members.

2.5/5

Track 6- Mars (featuring Rick Ross)

With Mars the album is finally changed up to feature more of a rumbling RnB sound. The production of the track is slick with a snappy bass foundation and fluttering electro swirls that creates this seductive tone for the song. The seductive essence of the track is also brought out by Sean’s great use of his falsetto, where he is just really charismatic and lovely to hear. The track finds Sean asking this girl if he can take her to mars because he is high on her love, but the lyrics definitely just wash over you against the vocals and production. However Rick Ross does provide a slick rap for the bridge that gives the track a nice urban flavour, making this a welcome change in the record.

3.5/5

Track 7- Miss Popular

Sticking with the more RnB driven vibe. Miss Popular finds the singer telling this girl that he would wait on a girl like her, because she is apparently just great. The song buys into that cliché of a beautiful girl having guys lining up for her, but with the singer’s light vocal tone you can kind of believe that he can be the man for such a girl. The rumbling drum beats and guitar undertones creates a sound that keeps the track ticking along, but it isn’t a sound that keeps you really invested in the song, nor does it sound in any way original.

3/5

Track 8- Close to You

Once again the record is changed to more of a dance pop orientated set with Close to You, a song that finds Sean telling this girl of how he wants to get closer to her, because he can’t get her out of her mind. The lyrics are more effective with this track, with the repetition in the chorus actually sounding really catchy, whilst Sean’s vocal performance is great has he gives us a lilting performance that is imbued with this sense of charisma and which nicely utilises his falsetto in places. The stomping electro rhythms also create a much more interesting tone that finds the singer almost giving us a euphoric dance track that is actually fun to move around to.

3.5/5

Track 9- Deep End

The electronic based sound is kept going with Deep End, but this time the bass is made a bit more forceful, and the work can almost be seen to have a dubstep edge. Here we find Sean singing about how he doesn’t want to spend another moment without this person and just wants to dive into the deep end with them. The metaphor laden lyrics are quite catchy even if Sean relies on clichés, whilst vocally things are nice as the singer’s voice shows a little bit more depth, with the layering of his voice in the chorus making for a catchier listen. The way that the production builds up into this stomping dance breakdown after the chorus makes for a more dynamic song that sees the singer fit into a much more interesting pop mould.

3.5/5 

Track 10- Worth It All

After the heavy dance pop edge of the last track the singer transports us back to more acoustically driven RnB pop with Worth It All, a song that focuses on Sean telling this girl that if they just keep going through the motions with their relationship, then it will be worth it in the end. The lyrical message is just a soppy idea embedded in so many pop clichés it is terrible, whilst the blend of clattering beats and a simple piano line creates such a typical RnB pop sound for this kind of track that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone claims Sean has ripped them off. The songs only saving grace is the singer’s light and slightly charismatic vocal, but even at this stage is voice is too familiar and the type of performance he gives feels like the same delivery for a number of songs.

2/5

Track 11- Passenger Side

Beginning with this moody arrangement, Passenger Side is a dark and sensual RnB track that finds the singer being more explicit. Sean still plays the love struck man in terms of the lyrics depicting him as this guy who wants this girl back in his life, but the song has much more of a sexual innuendo laden quality. The singer’s vocal performance is also stronger in terms of the layering of his voice giving the song a slightly rougher texture in a way, whilst the bridge also sees Sean giving us quite a slick rap style performance. The clattering bass and stuttering rhythm creates a cool RnB flow to the song that is much more interesting than some of the other production on the album.

3.5/5

Track 12- All on Your Body (featuring Ace Hood)

Continuing with the sex based material, All on Your Body finds Sean telling this girl to call him up for a good time, with this girl being so great. The lyrics are catchy in their way but once again the clichés creep in, whilst Sean also comes across as a bit egotistical. Vocally things are slick and smooth, but there are a few Auto Tune moments that are just annoying. Ace Hood provides a typical rap, and whilst the clunky beats and snappy dance tone of the production is vibrant and more attention grabbing than some of the previous material, the song is another track that seems like it has just been designed for chart success.

3/5

Track 13- Breakadawn

The slinky, clicky beats of the production creates a cool RnB flow to Breakadawn, but on the whole the song is really poor. Here we find Sean singing of how he and this girl are just going to be having sex till the break of dawn, with the whole lyrical composition sounding stupid, egotistical and over repetitive. Busta Rhymes also provides an annoying rap that just washes over you, and whilst the vocals are once again slick, they don’t do anything to keep you interested in the song. The track also feels silly coming right after the similarly positioned All on Your Body, so Sean just sounds like he can’t make different music.

2.5/5

Track 14- Sucka for You

If the change in sound on this record wasn’t enough, Sean decides to go for it again with Sucka for You, a pop song that has a slight reggae tinge. The song finds Sean telling us of how he is apparently a sucker for this girl who is a bad person, with the whole lyrics having that foolish man and femme fatale narrative idea that feels like the singer is just ripping off a bunch of Hollywood films. The slight reggae tinge to the song with the snappy beats also doesn’t do anything for the track, rather just feeling like the singer want’s to cover all his musical bases so people will buy the record, which ultimately just makes the record stupid.

2/5

Track 15- Universe

Final track Universe ends the album in a really clichéd way, as Sean treats us to a soppy, acoustic led love ballad. The song finds the singer telling this woman of how he loves her and how she is still so beautiful to him, with this girl apparently being the centre of his universe. It is a terrible male pop statement that is complete with a terrible ‘na na na’ hook, and although Sean has a charismatic vocal style, the songs bland qualities are unavoidable. The guitar riff is equally as stupid, and therefore it will only be the singer’s female fans who love bland pop music that will like this track.

2/5

Final Review

Basically, Neon is a really bad pop and RnB album that is embedded within a flurry of truly awful pop clichés, whilst the singer also comes across as just choosing particular sounds so that his songs can cater to different audiences and have commercial success. Sean does have a charismatic voice, but more often than not he comes across like an ex boy band member who is missing his fellow members for the work to sound good. Even at its best the production of the album sounds unoriginal, and so it makes perfect sense that Jay Sean has gone into relative obscurity in the mainstream charts.

3/10

Best Track- Deep End

Worst Track- Universe

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