Track listing
Show track credits
- 1 Golden Boys 4:39
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producer, guitar, programming, bass, Rhodes, recording engineer
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music
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songwriter
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background vocals
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bass
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drums
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Soul FingazRhodes
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recording engineer
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mixing
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- 2 They-Say Vision 3:36
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producer, guitar, programming
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music
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songwriter
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bass
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drums
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recording engineer
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mixing
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- 3 700 Mile Situation 4:10
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producer, guitar, recording engineer, keyboards
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music
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songwriter, co-producer
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bass, songwriter
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drums
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Soul Fingazkeyboards
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recording engineer
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mixing
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songwriter
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Blaxambackground vocals
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Steven Murraydrum programming
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recording engineer
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- 4 Ice King 4:48
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producer, guitar, programming, bass, recording engineer, keyboards, drums
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music, songwriter
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songwriter, background vocals
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Soul Fingazkeyboards
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recording engineer
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mixing
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songwriter
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Blaxambackground vocals
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producer, music, programming, drums
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Blair Robbrecording engineer
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- 5 Sittin' Back 4:06
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producer, guitar, keyboards
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music
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songwriter
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recording engineer
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mixing
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producer, music, programming, drums, bass
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Blair Robbrecording engineer
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- 6 How I Do 3:59
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songwriter
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producer, music, keyboards, programming
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recording engineer
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mixing
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- 7 If There Ain't Nothing 3:25
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producer, guitar, programming, bass, recording engineer, keyboards
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music
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songwriter
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Soul Fingazkeyboards
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mixing
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producer, music, programming, piano
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- 8 The Hustler 3:49
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songwriter
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producer, music, keyboards, programming
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recording engineer
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mixing
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- 9 I've Known the Garden 3:38
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additional producer
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songwriter
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recording engineer
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mixing
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Boseproducer, all instruments
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J. Lapinskimusic
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- 10 Let Love 3:54
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producer, programming, recording engineer, all instruments
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music
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songwriter
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mixing
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- 11 Tsunami
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producer, guitar, programming, bass
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songwriter
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recording engineer
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mixing
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Boseproducer, bass, guitar
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J. Lapinskimusic
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- - Tsunami 4:27
- - [silence] 0:30
- - Say It Anyway [hidden track] 2:51
- Total length: 47:52
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
2 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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How I Do [p]
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How I Do Digital file, Streaming
11 Reviews
A Silky Smooth Approach To 90s Neo-Soul Trends (And a Peek At an Unrealized Future)
feel like saying this is “frontloaded” is somewhat true but misleading… the beginning suggests an innovation in contemporary R&B sounds that could potentially tap the promising shifts to using elements of alternative rock in her sound. the incorporation of these elements is closer to Smashing Pumpkins than Aaliyah’s preference for industrial sounds. we float seamlessly between a vicious trip-hop diss track directed at a prominent rapper, melodic alt-rock, dub & 90s hip-hop soul within the first several tracks. that the album settles firmly into a more conventional neo-soul sound isn’t necessarily a negative, though the approach to songwriting is hardly progressive it is polished and sharply drawn, and the production remains sophisticated. kind of wish Say It Anyway’s pop punk riffs were incorporated into the album proper instead of appearing as a hidden track since it would float rather seamlessly through the A-side (though it is admittedly, in its current state, not at the same level of polish as those tracks), but alas! this is quite worth all the hype if not on the same level of reclaimed albums like Gaelle’s Transient in moving the genre forward. More of a curious look at where things *could* have gone.Published
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I'll admit, the production here is more effective than I'd initially expected, with the layers of sound often giving a vibe of controlled chaos, of pieces moving behind the main sound that you can't quite make out but that give a lot of character to the music.
Res' vocals are relaxed but firm, not very intense or sharp - I suppose the same could be said for the instrumentation. There are often multiple layers of synth (and maybe samples, I'm not sure) giving each song a gentle trip hop/alternative sound, though the mood of the music is more laid-back and straightforward than I'd normally associate with those genres. Even when the synths are pulled back and it's mainly guitar and drums (as in "I've Known The Garden") the guitar has a quick, slightly-sharp angles to give the songs their hint-of-alternative bite.
There's a blend of sounds here that keeps the music both accessible and ever-so-slightly gritty (almost like a more soulful and much less irritated Alanis Morissette - by the way, I decided on using this descriptor before hearing the lyrics to "The Hustler"). I won't call it a masterpiece or anything that grand, but it's not a bad set of songs.
Res' vocals are relaxed but firm, not very intense or sharp - I suppose the same could be said for the instrumentation. There are often multiple layers of synth (and maybe samples, I'm not sure) giving each song a gentle trip hop/alternative sound, though the mood of the music is more laid-back and straightforward than I'd normally associate with those genres. Even when the synths are pulled back and it's mainly guitar and drums (as in "I've Known The Garden") the guitar has a quick, slightly-sharp angles to give the songs their hint-of-alternative bite.
There's a blend of sounds here that keeps the music both accessible and ever-so-slightly gritty (almost like a more soulful and much less irritated Alanis Morissette - by the way, I decided on using this descriptor before hearing the lyrics to "The Hustler"). I won't call it a masterpiece or anything that grand, but it's not a bad set of songs.
Published
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1
Golden Boys
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2
They-Say Vision
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3
700 Mile Situation
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4
Ice King
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5
Sittin' Back
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6
How I Do
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7
If There Ain't Nothing
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8
The Hustler
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9
I've Known the Garden
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10
Let Love
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11
Tsunami
Res's vocal delivery proves to be solid on this album. She has a nice voice, opting to sing in a middle register despite having a wide range. The production is definitely well-assembled, but very dated and uninteresting in spots. And the lyrics have a personal edge, coming off as very authentic. The album has a very "outsider" feel to it, with Res often critiquing the establishment and the way things are.
"Golden Boys" is a track targeting 'golden boys', or famous men who she views as inauthentic (i.e. Mos Def). It's a really good song, and a fitting introduction to who Res is. On "They-Say Vision", the outsider themes carry on with similarly dramatic but fantastic production. Then the yearnful "700 Mile Situation" switches it up, being much more playful than the previous two songs but less interesting musically. The quality picks back up on "Ice King", which has another great string-backed instrumental, and the catchiest chorus. With these four songs, the lyrical and vocal variety of the whole record is evident.
Unfortunately, nothing is worth listening to after the first four or five songs, where the writing becomes more vague, the production becomes more forgettable, and the singing less expressive (aside from "Say It Anyway", which is nothing more than a curiousity). A good example is "The Hustler", which really drags in the production and melody department. Overall this album had a lot of potential, but could have fared better as an EP of the first 5 songs.
Published
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This is not your average neo-soul album, I swear there is a rock tinge on some of these songs and, somehow, it works wonderfully. It's more in the type of songs these are than the instrumentation, and in the first two tracks especially you can hear how her melodies are a lot more rigid than the more loose and jazzy vocal styles usually associated with the genre. It's plainly obvious how They-Say Vision has a touch of Nirvana in the bridge, or at least as much as a neo-soul song could have. It's clear why those two were the singles. She has these wordy choruses that are so fucking catchy and hard to sing along to. Opening with Golden Boys, the first time I heard that chorus I was fully hooked and sold on this record and what she does. There is also a hidden track after some silence on the last track, classic 2001 CD move, and it's a full on 90s style alt rock song with her vocal stylings and it strangely works. Of course there's a stretch of prime millennium era smooth contemporary R&B in the middle that was at a production peak at the time, slick and high budget but also hi-fi and detailed. I'm surprised this wasn't a hit because I think she clearly has a distinct sound and seems like a fully formed star already on her debut here. She's confident and harmonizes herself a lot which I love. Produced by Doc McKinney (the guy who went on to produce three Weeknd albums) and Santigold... in 2001. This was one of those weird RYM finds that has become a favorite.
Published
She never got the credit for being a good singer.
Published
Man, I totally forgot I had this record.
I haven't listened to it in years.
It still stands up after all these years, and with all the hype about Santigold(who wrote most of the record) these days, maybe it will get some fresh listens.
It does a really good job at blending neo-soul, Hip-hop, & pop with this weird kind of alternative rock vibe.
It's like the record Dionne Farris 1st album would have been if she had come out in the early '00s.
Favorite Tracks:
"Golden Boys" "They - Say Vision" "700 Mile Situation" "Ice King" "How I Do"
I haven't listened to it in years.
It still stands up after all these years, and with all the hype about Santigold(who wrote most of the record) these days, maybe it will get some fresh listens.
It does a really good job at blending neo-soul, Hip-hop, & pop with this weird kind of alternative rock vibe.
It's like the record Dionne Farris 1st album would have been if she had come out in the early '00s.
Favorite Tracks:
"Golden Boys" "They - Say Vision" "700 Mile Situation" "Ice King" "How I Do"
Published
I vaguely remembered Res, though admittedly more for the short boyhood crush I developed for her after seeing the video for "They Say Vision", where hips and cleavage made more of an impression on my teenage mind at the time than the music did. But when I found myself wondering why she seemed to disappear off the face of the earth, it was the music that was playing in my mind. That song and it's airy, infectious chorus. Thinking back on it, it was pretty different compared to her peers at the time. As my research found, that was part of the problem.
How I Do was released on a major label but suffered from poor marketing and an odd choice of singles, and as a result was forgotten in the highly competitive realm of mainstream music. They didn't know what audience to market her to. It's neo-soul, but not fully. It's kinda rock but not really. The aforementioned "They Say Vision" broke onto the dance charts for a short time, but I wouldn't say that that was a good place for her either. Strange, because it's easy to fathom that this would've been a pretty huge hit if it were released today in a climate where, even if the music is quite terrible, at least the lines that separate genres are a little more blurred, making it easier for acts to cross over and appeal to multiple audiences.
Listening to the first four tracks especially, it's hard to imagine how How I Do managed to fly under the radar. The arrangements are memorable and Res sings confidently over them with decent range. From there, the album does begin to suffer from a couple of throwaway tracks, like "Sittin' Back", that trip up the momentum and make it difficult to recapture the flow of the album's first third. But for the most part it's solid. Take almost any of these tracks, add a guest verse by (insert popular rapper at the time) between the second chorus and hook and you'd have heard a lot more about this.
How I Do was released on a major label but suffered from poor marketing and an odd choice of singles, and as a result was forgotten in the highly competitive realm of mainstream music. They didn't know what audience to market her to. It's neo-soul, but not fully. It's kinda rock but not really. The aforementioned "They Say Vision" broke onto the dance charts for a short time, but I wouldn't say that that was a good place for her either. Strange, because it's easy to fathom that this would've been a pretty huge hit if it were released today in a climate where, even if the music is quite terrible, at least the lines that separate genres are a little more blurred, making it easier for acts to cross over and appeal to multiple audiences.
Listening to the first four tracks especially, it's hard to imagine how How I Do managed to fly under the radar. The arrangements are memorable and Res sings confidently over them with decent range. From there, the album does begin to suffer from a couple of throwaway tracks, like "Sittin' Back", that trip up the momentum and make it difficult to recapture the flow of the album's first third. But for the most part it's solid. Take almost any of these tracks, add a guest verse by (insert popular rapper at the time) between the second chorus and hook and you'd have heard a lot more about this.
Published
"Golden Boy" lays the groundwork for your listening ears. Skittering snares & drum rolls, block-heavy beats and electronic loops set the lyrical scene; Hollywood-style illusions, the wrongs witnessed and possibly done to this singer (whose voice is so jaded, it's almost sweet and recondite) and the risky matter that occurs when the two collide. The synths sound like they have been dragged through the dirt, depsite their arid qualities; in a way, exposing all of the "Golden Boy's" dirty laundry without outright declaration. They hover above her as she divulges, "...there's girls like me who sit appalled by what we've seen/ we know the truth about you/now you're the prince in all the magazines/ that is a dangerous thing."
Res has seen more than her share of people phoning their lives in. In "They-Say Vision," the listener is given a further taste of life from a stance with an observing lens. The most pop offering of the album, its lyrics pose questions about what we see about us. Is what we're told the truth? Are you making your own decisions, or does 'they-say' rule your frame of thought?
The title track romps, rocks and bumps with abandon. Lyrical gems are littered throughout this one. In response to those who call Res arrogant, she simply shrugs and moves on. "Hey, that's just how I do/and if you feel that bad, maybe it's not for you." Simple
Res has seen more than her share of people phoning their lives in. In "They-Say Vision," the listener is given a further taste of life from a stance with an observing lens. The most pop offering of the album, its lyrics pose questions about what we see about us. Is what we're told the truth? Are you making your own decisions, or does 'they-say' rule your frame of thought?
The title track romps, rocks and bumps with abandon. Lyrical gems are littered throughout this one. In response to those who call Res arrogant, she simply shrugs and moves on. "Hey, that's just how I do/and if you feel that bad, maybe it's not for you." Simple
Published
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Catalog
4 Jun 2024
4 Jun 2024
4 Jun 2024
4 Jun 2024
4 Jun 2024
2 Jun 2024
1 Jun 2024
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1
Golden Boys
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2
They-Say Vision
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3
700 Mile Situation
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4
Ice King
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5
Sittin' Back
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6
How I Do
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7
If There Ain't Nothing
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8
The Hustler
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9
I've Known the Garden
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10
Let Love
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11
Tsunami
1 Jun 2024
31 May 2024
31 May 2024
30 May 2024
27 May 2024
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1
Golden Boys
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2
They-Say Vision
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3
700 Mile Situation
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4
Ice King
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5
Sittin' Back
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6
How I Do
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7
If There Ain't Nothing
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8
The Hustler
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9
I've Known the Garden
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10
Let Love
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11
Tsunami
26 May 2024
24 May 2024
24 May 2024