#nineteen85

Now that they are 3 albums deep, dvsn is no longer OVO’s best kept secret. Singer Daniel Daley and producer Nineteen85 have found a way to carve out their own lane out in a style of R&B that is extremely popular. I loved their 2016 debut album, SEPT. 5TH. That album just sounds like straight sex. The spacious production that Nineteen85 provided for Daniel’s amazing singing voice. He has quite an impressive vocal range. Their second album, Morning After came out in 2017. I didn’t review that one simply because I did not have that much to say about it. It’s a good album but I didn’t like it nearly as much as SEPT. 5TH. Even though it had a much more accessible sound, I did like that it was different though. I really appreciate the way they approached their third album, A Muse In Her Feelings because they could have easily made Morning After Part 2 or SEPT. 5TH Part 2 because that sound works for them but this album is different. AMIHF very much stays true to the dvsn sound but it is different in the production and the content. One thing that I instantly noticed is that there are features on this album. dvsn haven’t had any features or done any so it’s interesting to see them work with other people. OVO labelmate PARTYNEXTDOOR is on Friends and I didn’t even notice him on the song until my second listen. I’m not a very big fan of Jessie Reyez but I guarantee that the line on the hook “She ain't here for games unless they're courtside” will definitely be making people’s Instagram captions. Future appears on No Games and Summer Walker is on the album who I haven’t been a fan of at all but she did a really good job with her feature. Snoh Aalegra appears on the super dope Between Us. I didn’t review Snoh’s most recent album but definitely give it a listen if you haven’t already. There is a lot more variety in the production than usual which I appreciate. They haven’t made a song with a beat like Keep It Going before. SEPT. 5TH was a very sexy and love-oriented album whereas Morning After is a lot more of an in your feelings type of album. A Muse In Her Feelings includes the type of subject matter from both previous albums and gives some new subjects in there. I thought it was super creative how they sequenced the album to make the subject matter of each individual track to tell a story as the album goes along. The tracklist is split into sections so it starts with a breakup and getting over that breakup and by the end of the album, Daley is ready to fall in love again. I liked all the new and different things that they did with this album but there’s a difference between appreciating the album and the actual enjoyment of it. My main issue with each dvsn album has been that songs can sound very similar and that’s still the case with a bunch of songs on this album even though there is a bit more variety on this one than on Morning After. The first 4 songs had me a bit worried about this album because I wasn’t too crazy about those songs but I love the single Miss Me? The instant standout from this album was Dangerous City. That song is easily my favorite on the album and probably one of my favorite dvsn songs in general. Both Daley and Nineteen85 are from Toronto and come from Jamaican backgrounds and this song and the following track, So What contain reggae elements and feature reggae musicians Buju Banton and Popcaan. I love the bounce of the drums on Dangerous City and Daley’s falsetto on the hook. In addition to Buju Banton, Ty Dolla $ign also features on the song and kills it. This is one of the better features that I’ve heard Ty on recently. Some songs on this album are much weaker than others and make them seem like bad songs in comparison to the amazing songs on it and I don’t want to get that twisted because the weaker songs are good songs on their own. Even though this album started out pretty shaky, it finished really strong. Between Us with Snoh was so dope and A Muse made good use out of the Dead Presidents sample. The album closer, ...Again was also an instant standout and definitely a keeper. I love the progression in the production and the hook is so dope. Singer Shantel May stole the show with her feature as well. I don’t like this album as much as SEPT. 5TH but I do respect them doing something different and not making the same album twice. I respect them for using different sounds and it worked out really well. Although this isn’t my favorite of theirs, some of the songs on this album are some of dvsn’s best. I think this album is very good even though I don’t completely love every part of it. 

dvsn - Too Deep (SEPT. 5TH, 2016)