Theophilus London has to be doing something right to have
Kanye West as his executive producer, soul legend
Leon Ware as creative co-producer, and
the Force M.D.'s, Devonte Hynes, and
Jesse Boykins III as guest collaborators. Additionally, Karl Lagerfeld serves as art director and photographer for
Vibes!, London's second proper album.
Timez Are Weird These Days, the artist's debut housed in a
Ware-emulating cover, lacked focus and was mostly surface with little depth. This offers measurable improvements across the board. Even when London muddles quasi-philosophical gibberish and pro-fellatio sentiments on "Water Me," the hooks and basslines dig deeper. It's more creative, too: "Neu Law" cleverly overhauls a decade-old droning synth-pop vignette by
John Maus and is enhanced by
Miri Ben-Ari's gently cutting strings. London continues to craft frivolous tunes about playboy escapades. On "Do Girls," where he performs his version of orientation conversion therapy on a woman, he cannonballs into a wading pool of inanity. Well above that, there's the bopping "Need Somebody," powered by help from
Ware and
the Force M.D.'s, and a chorus that oddly recalls that of Eric Burdon & War's "Spill the Wine." It casually lays waste to everything on
Timez. The best bid for commercial radio play, however, is "Can't Stop," an adroit production from
Club Cheval,
Brodinski, and
88 Keys that features
West in top lewd form. Best of all is the finale, "Figure It Out," produced by
Ware. Hynes and
the Force M.D.'s also join in to make it one of the year's finest slow jams, akin to an update of a top
Ware ballad (like "Rockin' You Eternally" or "Words of Love") with sinewy low end. ~ Andy Kellman