Don Toliver released his newest album “Love Sick” on Friday, and it was another underwhelming project that didn’t wow me.
I was first introduced to Toliver when I listened to Travis Scott’s 2018 “Astroworld” and loved his work on Scott’s 2019 compilation album “JACKBOYS.”
This may be a controversial opinion, but I think Toliver is better off as a feature on other artists’ songs.
A lot of the saved songs in my music library feature him, but I don’t like many of his solo songs.
His previous album, “Life of a DON,” released in 2021 and was lackluster and disappointing. I gave the album several listens and only added one song to my library, “What You Need.”
He undeniably has talent, but I think his signature sad sound doesn’t fit well with his rapping.
All of Toliver’s best songs feature hard drums, a style that's rarely seen in his work.
Toliver’s albums sound so repetitive – the mellow sound and lyrics are hits, but when it's constantly repeating song after song, I feel like I’m falling asleep on Xanax.
His music sounds so much better when there’s a contrast between his soft voice and a high bass.
“Private Landing,” featuring pop singer Justin Bieber and rapper Future, is hands down the best song of the album.
This is the ideal track to play when pregaming with friends before heading out to the club. I would’ve never dreamed of Future and Bieber collaborating, but they absolutely carried the song.
Listeners can easily grasp onto how much Future appreciates his partner in his single verse.
He raps about how he likes to flaunt his girlfriend and his inclination to buy everything she wants in the lyrics, “Diamonds and Margiela, AP canary yellow/ Yeah, she deserve a Patek, 'cause she one of the members.”
Another of my favorite songs from the album is “If I Had” featuring Charlie Wilson.
I loved Wilson’s vocals featured on Tyler, the Creator’s “EARFQUAKE” and Kayne West’s “No Mistakes” because his voice was integrated in a way that made the songs come together.
“If I Had” stood out because it had a ’70s sound that I didn’t think Toliver's style would mesh well with, but it did.
“Let Her Go,” featuring British electronic musician James Blake, was another favorite of mine because Blake does an amazing job at incorporating gospel sounds.
You would think his voice wouldn’t pair nicely with rappers, but his work with Travis Scott on “Mile High” and “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” says otherwise.
Blake absolutely kills every track he’s featured on and outshines the other artists.
All of my favorite tracks from this album featured artists who outperformed Toliver.
I wish “Love Sick” included a built-up story line. It would’ve been better if it was an EP so I wouldn’t get bored as fast.
If you’re going to drop an album with 16 songs, please take the time to make sure every track doesn’t sound like one whole song.
I think Toliver should dive more into an indie sound, similar to what rapper and comedian Zack Fox did in his 2022 EP “wood tip.”
Fox’s EP was a completely different concept from his usual rapping.
An indie sound would fit Toliver’s low and monotone voice.
I also think Toliver should feature more female artists, especially for his love songs. The addition of divergent views would be a fresh change from his usual one-sided perspective.
