FOR STARTERS by SOLOMON
R&B is having a ressurgence as the 2020s carry on. Some of my favorite projects from the past few years have been from the genre. And while it may be more saturated than in the past many years, the genre continues to make way for new artists to emerge.
SOLOMON is one of the up and comers I would consider worth keeping an eye out for. This album is the reason why.
FOR STARTERS is an excellent example of an R&B artist not afraid to let their vocals take center stage. There is not a bad instrumental on the album, but they never come close to outshining SOLOMON's own lyrics and singing.
One of the primary ways I judge albums nowadays is by asking if I would buy the vinyl. To buy a vinyl is to buy the entire project, and to be willing to let it all play without skipping. For such an early project in SOLOMON's career I am impressed and more than willing to buy this in vinyl format should it ever get the release.
We look forward to hearing more from SOLOMON and hope you enjoy this album as well.
Free and Paid Subscribers can enjoy the full songXsong breakdown below.
TOP 3 TRACKS
- listen up
- sore loser
- fingerprints
songXsong
a song by song breakdown of FOR STARTERS by SOLOMON
do you want my love?
The way this song kicks off accousticly, better yet, with SOLOMON's vocals only, and the slight build of the instrumental that follows.. it is a beautiful way to kick off a project.
In a second listen to this track, focusing on the lyrics, I am again taken back by the skill he possesses. In what feels like a made for cinema love song, SOLOMON lays the foundation for this album with a powerful but precise opening tone set.
dehydrate
Picking up the energy a bit in this track, SOLOMON paints the picture of effort given without effort recieved. Anyone who has ever had a broken heart can releate. But the imagery used, of dehydrating flowers, is such a poetic way to build a concept. Pair in his continuing great vocal display, the second track is another hit for me.
listen up (Radio Edit)
This may be the one song on the album that the instruments get remotely close to outperforming SOLOMON. He still overcomes them, but the entire sound of this track seems ready for radio and mass appeal. A great all around song with a more upbeat vibe. The only thing I can say negative about this song is that I wish it were longer, but it also benefits from the 'less is more' feel.
sore loser
In what may possibly be the best track on the album, this is also the song that I first heard that made me go and listen to the album. The production of this track is phenominal. It is probably easier to make a song sound good with vocals like these, but the entire production quality of this track is amazing.
phases (feat. Kojey Radical)
SOLOMON sticks true to his core on this track. The pockets of the beat that his vocals land in on this song are so well placed that it adds to the feeling each word lands with. Describing the phases we go through in love, this track is quintessential R&B and another unskippable for this album.
Kojey Radical provides a pace change from much of the rest of the album with his different sound but it pairs well and adds a great second element to the song.
fingerprints
By this point I am feeling the hurt for this man like any great R&B album should. So many forget what the B stands for in the genre name, and this album has served to remind us all. This song is heavy, the strum in the background a constant reminder or pain behind vocals that shine yet again.
burn out
SOLOMON's voice has a higher tone in this track that is fitting for a track later in the album. Resembling the stages of grief, and being closer to moving on, this track embodies that feeling of the flame finally "burning out" and moving on. The writing on this album has been so well paired by the production you feel you are listening to a great movie.
loosely
This song, while the others have as well, feels like a poem being sung over a beat that was designed to make you feel it with every beat of the drum. The increase in bass about half-way through with playful vocal manipulations make this a fun track, considering the content.