Francesco Carrozzini
Usher uses a mix of producers on “Looking 4 Myself.”
- Title: Usher, "Looking 4 Myself"
- Venue: RCA Records
“Looking 4 Myself” from Usher
“Who am I?,” sings Usher on his new CD. “Can someone remind me?”
When they do, can they tell the rest of us?
After creating seven hit studio CDs, launching scores of splashy tours, and generating a landfill’s worth of gossipy headlines, Usher’s core identity still feels either shallow or unformed. And, on some level, he must know it. Why else saddle his whole CD with the title “Looking 4 Myself”?
Of course, there's a cartoonish persona of Usher that's as ruthlessly focused, and flimsy, as a stereotype. On the surface, he’s one of the hunkiest, R&B ladies men of the last 15 years, blessed with a falsetto so balletic it could make anyone of either gender, or any persuasion, swoon. But the one time he tried to bore deeper — on 2008’s “Here I Stand,” where he dealt with mature love and fatherhood — he relied on sentimental clichés and sounded more shallow, and less credible, than he did on his many career-making come-on songs. Not coincidentally, “Stand” didn’t sell as briskly as his usual fare.
This time, Usher isn’t trying to go deep but instead broad. By design, it’s his most diverse CD, inspired by a visit to the sonic cornucopia that is the Coachella Music Festival. There, he heard electronica stars like Swedish House Mafia (whom he employed for two tracks here) and Empire of the Sun (for one). The CD also ropes in Salaam Remi, famous for his work with Amy Winehouse, and Rico Love, a guy who helped open up Beyoncé’s sound. Usher labels the result “revolutionary pop,” but there’s nothing here that sounds like it’s about to make history.
Mainly, it sounds like a mishmash, flitting between styles in order to please as many people, as efficiently, as possible. Throwing so much at the wall means that some of it has to stick. The tracks with Swedish House Mafia (“Numb” and “Euphoria”) propose a possible crossover point from electronica to R&B — much like Usher’s biggest hit (“Yeah!”) did from crunk to soul. They match the druggy peaks of raves with smoother tunesmanship. Remi’s track, “Sins of My Father,” has some of the sexy, retro shading he brought to his Winehouse productions. And “Climax” has an insinuating melody, a smart lyric, and a falsetto from Usher that’s downright divine.
Unfortunately, most of the CD’s other attempts to flesh out the star’s sound, or persona, seem boilerplate, from the title track, which could have been a rejected Cyndi Lauper song from the ’80s, to Twisted,” which lands far from the snappiest attempts at pop-rock by its producers, The Neptunes.
It’s a shame Usher didn’t go for a more focused or consistent sound, let alone the adventurous one he advertised. Ultimately, he occupies the same role here as he always has — closer to a professional sex worker than a personal lover.
When they do, can they tell the rest of us?
After creating seven hit studio CDs, launching scores of splashy tours, and generating a landfill’s worth of gossipy headlines, Usher’s core identity still feels either shallow or unformed. And, on some level, he must know it. Why else saddle his whole CD with the title “Looking 4 Myself”?
Of course, there's a cartoonish persona of Usher that's as ruthlessly focused, and flimsy, as a stereotype. On the surface, he’s one of the hunkiest, R&B ladies men of the last 15 years, blessed with a falsetto so balletic it could make anyone of either gender, or any persuasion, swoon. But the one time he tried to bore deeper — on 2008’s “Here I Stand,” where he dealt with mature love and fatherhood — he relied on sentimental clichés and sounded more shallow, and less credible, than he did on his many career-making come-on songs. Not coincidentally, “Stand” didn’t sell as briskly as his usual fare.
This time, Usher isn’t trying to go deep but instead broad. By design, it’s his most diverse CD, inspired by a visit to the sonic cornucopia that is the Coachella Music Festival. There, he heard electronica stars like Swedish House Mafia (whom he employed for two tracks here) and Empire of the Sun (for one). The CD also ropes in Salaam Remi, famous for his work with Amy Winehouse, and Rico Love, a guy who helped open up Beyoncé’s sound. Usher labels the result “revolutionary pop,” but there’s nothing here that sounds like it’s about to make history.
Mainly, it sounds like a mishmash, flitting between styles in order to please as many people, as efficiently, as possible. Throwing so much at the wall means that some of it has to stick. The tracks with Swedish House Mafia (“Numb” and “Euphoria”) propose a possible crossover point from electronica to R&B — much like Usher’s biggest hit (“Yeah!”) did from crunk to soul. They match the druggy peaks of raves with smoother tunesmanship. Remi’s track, “Sins of My Father,” has some of the sexy, retro shading he brought to his Winehouse productions. And “Climax” has an insinuating melody, a smart lyric, and a falsetto from Usher that’s downright divine.
Unfortunately, most of the CD’s other attempts to flesh out the star’s sound, or persona, seem boilerplate, from the title track, which could have been a rejected Cyndi Lauper song from the ’80s, to Twisted,” which lands far from the snappiest attempts at pop-rock by its producers, The Neptunes.
It’s a shame Usher didn’t go for a more focused or consistent sound, let alone the adventurous one he advertised. Ultimately, he occupies the same role here as he always has — closer to a professional sex worker than a personal lover.
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