2025 Grammys Review: "Djesse Vol. 4" - Jacob Collier

 

Djesse Vol. 4 -- Jacob Collier

(All rights to Hajanga Records)

1) 100,000 Voices

There's a Bono/Chris Martin quality to his voice. The production is busy, and  the ending kinda comes out of nowhere without being earned.

2) She Put Sunshine

The writing feels basic.

3) Little Blue ft/ Brandi Carlisle

This feature is a nice change of pace.

4) Wellll

This has an alt-rock vibe with some solid writing behind it, "I'm bleeding, I think I'm reading you well".

5) Cinnamon Crush ft/ Lindsey Lomis

This is a nice feature, but it brings back some of the production stylings that didn't work for me in the 1st couple of tracks.

6) Wherever I Go ft/ Lawrence & Michael McDonald

This is catchy but again there's more simplistic writing.

7) Summer Rain ft/ Madison Cunningham & Chris While

A very nice feature, "I don't masquerade inside the flame".

8) A Rock Somewhere ft/ Anoushka Shankar & Varijashree Venugopal

The sitar brings a different vibe.

9) Mi Corazon ft/ Camilo

The Latin pop vibe doesn't mesh with Jacob's production.

10) Witness Me ft/ Shawn Mendes, Stormzy & Kirk Franklin

Stormzy brings a nice change.

11) Never Gonna Be Alone ft/ Lizzy McAlpine & John Mayer

The vocals are nice but the song doesn't really go anywhere.

12) Bridge Over Troubled Water ft/ John Legend & Tori Kelly

Jacob's style drags this classic cover down.

13) Over You ft/ Aespa & Chris Martin

The production is self indulgent.

14) Box Of Stars PT 1 ft/ Kirk Franklin, Chika, D Smoke, Sho Madjozi, Yelle & Kanyi Mavi

This is layered well.

15) Box Of Stars PT 2 ft/ Metropole Orkest, Suzie Collier, Steve Vai & Voces8

Unlike part 1, this all feels disjointed.

16) World O World

A dragging and self indulgent ending.

Overall I found this album self indulgent and artsy just for the sake of it. He's going in so many different directions at once without really committing to anything. While there are a few tracks and features that work, overall this just feels kind of disjointed. (69.6)

85.9 "Short n' Sweet" Sabrina Carpenter 

69.6 "Djesse Vol 4" Jacob Collier

2025 Grammys Review: "Short n' Sweet" - Sabrina Carpenter

 

"Short N' Sweet" - Sabrina Carpenter 

(All rights to Island Records)

1) Taste

This reminds me somewhat of an inverted version of "Girl crush" by Little Big Town.

2) Please Please Please

There's a funky vibe,  "I heard you're an actor, so act like a stand up guy.... If you don't wanna cry to my music  don't make me hate you prolifically".

3) Good Graces

There is a pop and R&B feel. Sabrina is saying to stay on her good side; "I'll tell the world that you finish your chores prematurely".

4) Sharpest Tool

The chorus is creative, especially the instrumental; " guilt tripped me to open up to you". A very well produced track.

5) Coincidence

There's a campfire guitar vibe. There's some clever writing; "Your car drove itself from L.A to her thighs".

6) Bed Chem

There's a sort of old school funk vibe. Once more, the writing is very creative and witty; " Where art thou? Why not uponeth me?" A very catchy track.

7) Espresso

This worked as a lead single, but its suffered a bit for me with radio overplay.

8) Dumb & Poetic

This callout track left me wanting more from it.

9) Slim Pickins

With a country feel, Sabrina is like a new-age Dolly Parton on this track. Her vocals are quite impressive.

10) Juno

A catchy clever track,  there's a classic pop guitar riff.

11) Lie To Girls

This track doesn't have a distinct style, but it does close strong.

12) Don't Smile

With an R&B (Miguel) vibe, this track has a clear closing message; "Don't smile because it happened baby cry because it's over".

On Sabrina's last 2 albums, she's seen herself vault into the mainstream,  and on this effort we see her writing being as clever and as witty as ever. The sky is the limit on what style Sabrina wants to tackle next. (85.9)

85.9 "Short n' Sweet" Sabrina Carpenter