***ALBUM OF THE MONTH | February 2020***
Luke James
to feel love/d
Culture Collective
Buy Here | Listen Below
To feel love. To feel loved. These phrases are short, but their brevity shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of depth. Love is a feeling that manifests in many ways. Desire, joy, fear, regret—we cycle through these emotions and many others all for the sake of feeling love(d). It's an experience that inspires great R&B and soul music. Lots of examples can be named, but few albums capture the experience as poetically as Luke James' new album, to feel love/d.
James is a singer, songwriter and actor from New Orleans. If you don't recognize his name, you may remember his face from the BET series The New Edition Story. As noted in its title, the series portrayed the career of the legendary group from Boston, and James played the role of Johnny Gill. The series was a success and James was praised for his performance. Yet James is a great singer in his own right and his latest LP proves that it's time to pay attention to his story.
to feel love/d is rich in sound and content. James' lyrics convey many of the thoughts that come to mind when you read the album's title. He sets the tone on the opening track, "lambo." James sings, "If you love me / Why don't you love me? / You should love me / Like I love you." As he delivers these lines, his voice carries a tone of anxiety that matches his words. James lends a voice to the fear that the person you love doesn't feel as strongly about you. This fear is unsettling and it's amplified by the accompanying music. James is backed by majestic production and haunting background vocals, creating a dramatic feel that's almost tangible.
With the following song, James shifts from the uncertainty of love to the desire of it. "all of your love" is a funk-tinged cut that finds James proclaiming just how badly he wants the person on his mind. No longer weighed down by sorrow, James sounds invigorated by the thought of what could be. His vocals convey his excitement, but they will probably trigger your nostalgia. James' performance calls back memories of Prince, from the slick delivery of his lines to ad-libs that make it seem like he touched a hot stove.
"all of your love" is about anticipation of what's possible, but "blow" captures the euphoria of what is. The ballad showcases what makes James an impressive vocalist. He sings about the heights people reach when they feel love. These heights come to life with each of his high notes—exclamations that point to what James calls a "natural high." During the bridge, James is in awe of how this high feels. He delivers his words with a measured pace, sounding like someone who's amazed and searching for the right words to describe what they feel.
By conveying this much emotion, James gives "blow" the power to not just entertain, but resonate with listeners. This ability of his makes nearly every song on the project a standout. "who you are" is a warm, string-driven throwback that dares you to be in a bad mood after hearing it. "traveling," which features Big K.R.I.T., is so smooth that even Stephen A. Smith would mellow out to it.
But the most graceful moment of the album comes on the last song, "shine on." It proves to be the 180° of the LP's opener. Over beautiful strings, James uses a whisper tone to sing about an unwavering love. He was unnerved on "lambo," but as he calls his love a "beam of light" and "God's sign," it's safe to say he's feeling more confident this time around.
There's a lot of distance between the perspectives heard on the album's first and last songs. And James covers much of that ground through the course of the album. to feel love/d is a short project, comprised of just nine songs. But listeners won't feel cheated, as Luke James offers some of the most soulful performances you'll hear today.
Notable Tracks: "blow" | “lambo” | "traveling" | “who you are”
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