The third studio album of Canadian R&B singer Daniel Caesar is one for the books. NEVER ENOUGH is a project full of emotions, vulnerability and raw talent.
The last time Caesar released a project was in 2019 with the album ‘Case Study 01.’ After taking some time off, on April 7 the full-length album dropped.
NEVER ENOUGH is a beautiful album that makes you feel out of body experiences. Daniel Caesar is known for his songwriting and voice, but in this album, both of them shine together.
In 15 tracks, the listener goes through a rollercoaster of emotions, from feeling like you will wait forever for the person you want, to reflecting on the daunting pressure of growing older. Here is a breakdown of some of the tracks.
Ocho Rios
The intro track is one of the most important songs on the album. I love a good intro track that gives you a teaser of what the rest of the album is going to sound like, and Ocho Rios did just that.
It comes in delicately, but as you get more into the song it introduces glorious harmonies, guitar and a simple drum that helps move along the track.
Valentina
The third single of the project is Valentia. This is one of the more bouncier songs that anyone can enjoy at any time of day.
Caesar sings about the aftermath of seeing a girl for the first time, knowing he could make her his. Valentia is a great track when you are in the beginning stages of dating someone.
Toronto 2014 (with Mustafa)
This stand-out song on the project features fellow Canadian Mustafa. The song explores topics of growing up and missing the simple life before fame.
Caesar sings, “Cause when I’m home, I’m lost. Let’s make it look easy. Oh take it easy on me it’s still my city, it’s still my city,” showing the duality of feeling lost and loved in Toronto. The duet is one to make you feel warm inside when listening.
Let Me Go
If you want to hear a song that feels like it fills up the whole room, this is the one for you. As the second single of the album, this song set the tone that this would be a gorgeous album.
Caesar sings about leaving a relationship behind that you know is coming to an end. The chorus of the song is so catchy and easy to learn. He sings “It’s’ bout that time that I break away before our time expires, Baby won’t you let me go? Oh-Oh.” A perfect song for the winter heartbreak time.
Do You Like Me?
Coming off a song that talks about letting go, we have this track. In this song, it talks about finding someone attractive and hoping they like you back.
This is a situation a lot of us go through and we finally have a song sent as a little hint. My favorite line comes in the pre-chorus where he sings, “Do you really like me? Yeah, we’re still young but for how many moons? I guess we’ll find out.” This really speaks to the uncertainty of love, and how you just never know when it will happen.
Always
If you have heard the term “throwing up and sliding down the wall” when used to describe a feeling, this song gets it. This song is by far the best on the album.
The song starts off calm then it grows into a grandiose track. His lyrics are so simple, yet straight to the point. The chorus goes, “And I don’t care if you’re with somebody else I’ll give you time and space. Just know I’m not a phase.” The songwriting is just too good.
Cool
This is a slower track compared to the rest of the album, it gives us a chance to breathe. Caesar talks about his personal life and not having a support system.
We can hear this when he says, “Don’t give them all of yourself, cause one day they won’t be around. Can’t go to them for help.” As a fan of Caesar we often don’t get to know a lot of his personal life, so hearing songs like these lets us peek behind the curtains of who he is.
Disillusioned (with serpentwithfeet)
Continuing the theme of growing older, this song is the one for late-night car rides alone. Windows down, wind hitting your hair and you hear, “I’m scared of getting older it weighs upon my shoulders and you’re scared of it too,” in the most angelic voice.
It makes you reflect you’re getting older and you can’t do anything about it but let it happen.
Lastly, this song features one of my favorite parts of the whole album, the outro. The outro is for people who love the sound of stacked vocals with lyrics as funny as, “Let’s go to a boardwalk, watch the people walking by. Well make fun of their outfits, we’ll be cynics, we’ll get high.”
Buyer’s Remorse (feat. Omar Apollo)
Halfway through the album, the best is yet to come.
In this interlude-like song, there is an Omar Apollo feature where he sings four lines. I was expecting more from Apollo, but his touch at the end was pretty sweet. On the other hand, Daniel puts on a staccato-like chorus along with those backing harmonies he is so well-known for.
Shot My Baby
“What is it with R&B artists killing their exes?” I said to myself while listening to this track for the first time.
First SZA released Kill Bill and now this. This track is a very picturesque song describing the process of catching his partner cheating and shooting her.
In this country-twang-influenced track he says, “I caught my lady being untrue, oh what was I supposed to do. I had to prove myself a man ‘cause clearly, she don’t think I can.”
Pain is Inevitable
Oftentimes when something bad happens, we dwell on it for time. In this song, Caesar encourages us to do differently. The chorus, “Pain is inevitable. Misery’s a choice,” says bad things will always happen but it is up to us how we deal with it. Instead of dwelling and overthinking, we can keep it moving.
Homiesexual (with Ty Dollar $ign)
The last collaboration on the album comes from the renowned feature king Ty Dolla $ign. The sensual song talks about his partner finding someone else who couldn’t treat them as well as Caesar did.
In the Ty Dolla $ign feature he adds to the topic with, “And they can never love you like I can, love you like I can.” These two singers combined created a great track full of jealousy.
Vince Van Gough
Caesar wanted this to be the single for the album. In his interview with Apple Music, he said when it came to choosing singles he was really pushing for this one, but his team mentioned it didn’t even have a chorus.
This track explores the topic of artists receiving their flowers after their death, much like Van Gogh. In the outro he sings, “I would argue that the more they tell you that they hate you, the more they actually love you.” The morality of posthumous albums continues to be debated in the music community.
Superpowers
Reaching the end of the album moves away from the topic of love to self-worth. We can hear this in the second verse, “You come a long way kid and let me just say this, oh yeah you are the main character now.” As humans, we often struggle with self-confidence, so it’s nice to hear a song encouraging you to lift your head and realize you are the main character.
Unstoppable
Just as the intro track is important, so is the outro. Unstoppable has a coming-of-age feeling, especially in the chorus when he says, “And who’s gon’ stop us? We’re unstoppable.”
Through the ups and downs of Caesar’s career and personal life, he continues to make music because he is unstoppable. Even if people doubt us or bring us pain, this album has reminded me to keep going, I am the main character.
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