Artist: Avant
Album: Avant (self-titled)
Release Date: 12.9.08

It’s a shame we don’t live in an age where true R&B music can be appreciated. If we did, Avant surely would have gotten more recognition with his previous albums, and not resorted to hustling audio porn to sell records. That being said, this album embraces the carnal side of relationships, and…oh yeah, relationships. There’s some content here that will make the ladies blush in shameful adulation, while some of the fellas will cheer over his uninhibited approach.

This self-titled album marks Avant’s 5^th studio album and doesn’t deviate much from its predecessors. He’s made his mark as a respectable singer who relies on the warmth of his natural tenor range without resorting to the overuse of falsetto, a key characteristic of many males leading today’s R&B charts. Still, this album fails to deliver anything groundbreaking. The first single When It Hurts is a highlight of the album, and carries many similarities to Avant’s popular singles from his previous releases. The album opens with Sensuality, a synth-and-bass heavy track that illustrates the effects of being in the presence of a captivating woman. Perfect Gentleman keeps the album uptempo also as does Involve Yourself with its old school feel and funky bass line. For all the uninhibited passionate lovers out there (freaks!), check out Out of Character, a vivid narrative anecdote describing a conversation persuading his lady to try a threesome (blushing yet, ladies?), a subject of curiosity and fantasy for many but also publicly looked down upon. The freakiness continues with the second single Break Ya Back (In A Good Way) and French Pedicure, which features the widely popular female foot treatment up in the air during moments of intimacy. Did it just get hot in here? Snoop Dogg makes a guest appearance on Attention, but Y.O.U. gets my vote for the best song on the album; lyrically it’s very smooth, and the music has more of the live band feel to it. The closing number is a cover of Christopher Cross’ 1980 hit Sailing, and while Avant sounds great on the vocals, the obscurity of this record doesn’t help to improve the blah nature of this album. Basically, he could have picked a better song to cover.

For all of its good points this album is still just decent. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s just nothing that really stands out. Then again, with Avant, there rarely is. I will enjoy adding the more freaky tracks to some of my late night playlists, but there’s not really much else worth keeping in rotation. Ladies may adore his newfound “prison swoleness”, but if he would put as much energy into more creative concepts for the next album, maybe he’d finally get a #1 hit.

Related Posts:
Video: Avant - Break Ya Back (In A Good Way)
Video: Avant - When It Hurts

-Mack-