Photograph Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Each day Beast/Getty
Charlie Puth is a dwelling, irritating conundrum.
Right here we've an undeniably gifted, sharp-minded musician with a handful of hit songs and Grammy nominations to his identify. He’s humorous, even when his inclination for shock chortles induces extra eye rolls than legit laughs. He’s charismatic, usually oversharing in interviews as a substitute of sticking to boring, PR-approved soundbites. He’s bought good pitch. And but, in terms of his music, the person can’t cease getting his personal manner. Living proof: CHARLIE, Puth’s third studio album, which arrived Friday and suffers from undercooked, TikTok-baiting pop songs that might have been a lot extra.
At first, the idea behind CHARLIE appeared like an attention-grabbing one—as Puth himself described, it was an album “born on the web.” Over the previous yr and a half, he’s documented the creation of those dozen tracks on TikTok, giving followers a peek into his course of by constructing songs round random sounds or instrumentals. It gave the Berklee-educated musician an opportunity to flex his chops, which at instances got here throughout as dorky and high-handed, however largely succeeded in endearing followers to his musical nerd persona.
Sadly, TikTok might have stunted Puth’s vibe; spending months presenting your self as some type of quirky music guru solely works if the tip consequence is definitely spectacular. As a substitute, CHARLIE is generic-sounding pop that suffers from too many underbaked tracks, most of which come to a vexing halt after two verses and choruses. That’s effective in some instances—typically it’s finest to go away the individuals wanting extra—however right here, it appears like TikTok’s palate for brief consideration spans crippled Puth’s songwriting and made him a lazier musician than he actually is. Simply ask Taylor Swift followers in regards to the energy of a very good bridge.
“There’s a First Time for Every part,” as an illustration, finds Puth tearing and tongue-twisting his manner via the punk-lite verses, sounding like Mark Hoppus at his perkiest however most rushed. “Marks on My Neck” equally ends prematurely after two “Jessie’s Lady”-esque verses, in addition to a drum fill earlier than the second hook that might’ve labored higher as a climatic second as a substitute of a hurried afterthought.
CHARLIE isn’t all misses. Lead single “Mild Swap” is a fab, absolutely fleshed earworm that clicks; simply ask any pop radio station within the nation. Ditto with the finger-snapping “Loser,” which encompasses a funky bass line (à la Puth’s finest single up to now, “Consideration”) as he muses, “I’m a loser, why’d I've to lose her? / I’ll by no means get well, I’ll by no means be effective.”
To make sure, CHARLIE is a breakup album (closely rumored to chronicle his previous relationship with singer Charlotte Lawrence), however mercifully, it’s not a mopey one. As a substitute, Puth diffuses the strain in his subject material by going all-in on the ’80s with largely upbeat, brilliant, and synth-heavy tracks. On the catchy “Tears on My Piano”—which isn't really a piano tune in any respect, however a foot-stomping bop with an immediately singable hook—he cleverly mocks himself for making unhappy songs: “All I make is music for crying,” he bemoans. In the meantime, his earnest makes an attempt at balladry, specifically the really piano-driven torch tune “When You’re Unhappy I’m Unhappy,” is a falsetto-flaunting snooze. Identical goes for album nearer “No Extra Drama,” which serves up zero musical thrills however a minimum of finds Puth in a happier headspace. “I bought no extra drama in my life and it’s such a blessing / I’m so glad I lastly realized I’m higher off with out you,” he sings. (Glad you’re doing properly, Charlie. Now get again to creating higher music.)
If CHARLIE is any indication, Puth nonetheless hasn’t struck the best chord (good pitch be damned) within the pop area. After breaking via in 2016 together with his completely charmless debut album, 9 Monitor Thoughts, he leveled up in an enormous manner with 2018’s Voicenotes, which he weirdly mentioned he’s solely 60 p.c proud of in a current interview, regardless of it being his finest work to this point. That album was stuffed with slinky confidence and charisma, boasting options with the likes of Boyz II Males and Kehlani, buoyed by daring musical decisions and finely detailed lyricism.
Sadly, Voicenotes was largely slept on, which is probably why we've what we've now: a gimmicky album period marked by little aside from a middling duet with BTS’ Jung Kook, a collection of butt-baring thirst traps, and a live performance carried out within the Metaverse. (On the very least, we are able to take solace that CHARLIE is an improve from the “unhealthy boy” section Puth tried in 2019 with the trio of “I Warned Myself,” “Mom,” and “Dishonest On You,” none of which cracked the Sizzling 100. Even Elton John informed him these songs sucked.)
Some have urged that Puth ought to go the Ryan Tedder route and focus his efforts on crafting hits for different artists. That’s definitely labored properly for him as of late—he wrote and produced the Child Laroi and Justin Bieber smash “Keep,” which topped the Sizzling 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks after its launch final yr. And but, one can’t assist however hope that Puth will as soon as once more harness his musical powers for good. Possibly he simply must take a sabbatical from TikTok first.