8/10
Favorite Track: "Juice" Least Favorite Track: "How I Feel (Feat. Gucci Mane)"
Detroit singer-songwriter and vocalist Lizzo is anything but another modern, boring, pop act. Upon first listen of her music it is immediately obvious how talented of a vocalist she is and that quality really goes to serve as the backbone of her sound. Whether she decides to keep her singing in a more lax and subdued manner or go into her ridiculously impressive raspy, soulful, and insane highs she never sings any way but over the top (and I mean that in a good way) and her new major label debut ; Cuz I Love You, exemplifies this through all eleven of its tracks. That combined with an obvious influence from soul and funk music and a surprising amount of wailing guitars makes this pop record one of the most interesting of the year so far. It simply bleeds character. I can’t get enough of Lizzo’s eccentric and exciting style on this album that the features almost seem to detract something from the record. Not to say that this thing is bloated with features because its not, there are only two that are listed but I feel like both performances are underwhelming from Missy elliot and from Gucci Mane. This is a rare pop record that I don’t think truly needed any features. Most pop singers can only push their voice so far before their music becomes simply the same voice in the same vocal range with the same demeanor, but Lizzo has so much character that I don’t even think features were needed on this project because she offers enough to digest on her own on nearly every track on this thing. With that being said however, the album can at times become a little one dimensional in the sense that it doesn’t really allow the listener a moment to breathe or take in what she is throwing at them. The consistency of these bangers is most certainly appreciated but bangers are sort of all that this record offers. A change of pace with more of a ballad or something a little slower or even something noticeably harder sounding, might of given this LP a little more space. The only track that sort of suffices for this happens to be the last one in this eleven cut track list. As expected the banger that kicks off this record shows off Lizzo’s unreal vocal range right off the bat. The title track “Cuz I Love You” is a beautiful fusion of trap and pop production with some rock instrumentation mixed into the back half performed with the lyrical style of a ballad. Some of the notes she hits on this thing are absolutely insane. Track #2 is one of the more rap infused songs on the album. “Like A Girl” is the first taste of activism we get on this LP. I like the message a lot, it is sort of a song making fun of how people tend to use demeaning, and woman-shaming phrases such as “you throw like a girl”. Lizzo gives us a pretty interesting and tastefully delivered perspective on the issue. What I love most about this track is how much you can hear the passion in her voice. You feel like she is singing about this BECAUSE she really does care about it, which is something I love. Something else I love (corny transition), is track #3 “Juice”. This song is so fun, so catchy, and so enjoyable. The hook is absolutely infectious. Some of the melodic spoken word sections in the bridges seem directly influenced by the same kind of thing that Janelle Monae did on her last full length project ; Dirty Computer, and Lizzo’s rendition of this technique works just as well as Monae’s did. The track also has a painfully great funk edge to it that adds a lot to the cut. “Heaven Help Me” is another highlight for me. I like the funky and gospel like keys in the background of the track. The electric guitars on the back half of the song bring it to a pretty epic conclusion that I like quite a bit. The closer “Lingerie” could've been greater than it is. I do really like the instrumental, some of the sweet sounding bass guitars and lead guitars are pretty great. I also like how the vocals are a little more subdued on this one in the beginning. The subject matter is my gripe with the track however. It seems a little pointless as it is just sort of a sex anthem and for an outro specifically I would of prefered a track with a little more to say for the conclusion of this album. None the less the instrumental is pretty slick and I do like the song. Cuz I Love You doesn’t bring anything entirely new to the table nor does it provide anything exquisitely unexpected but it builds on pop ideas in a very exciting way. It isn't a very heavy or complicated listen but this album finds it’s strength in the obviously passionate and enthusiastic songwriting and vocals it provides and the overall fun that radiates off of it.
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