PSYCHODRAMA, Dave's visionary debut album, was empowered by its fiercely local perspective. The stains and triumphs of London living trickled through the record's very fibers, manifesting in direct homage to "Streatham," sly references to Brixton and Bow, and the localized minutiae of "Lesley." Yet with his second album, We're All Alone in This Together, the scope has opened somewhat. The Dave of 2021 is rallying against Middle Eastern refugee crises and deepening his Nigerian ties -- a rapper with his feet planted in London, but with a gaze stretching worldwide.
With his acute pen, Dave folds international concerns into the London diaspora: "Three Rivers" poignantly examines three eras of British immigration, "Lazarus" pings between London and Lagos, and "Heart Attack" contextualizes cyclical violence with its "Somali dad ran away from a war, now his son's in a war." PSYCHODRAMA's localization is far from gone -- "Verdansk" kicks the album off with Brick Lane wisecracks and a "three-car convoy in Sutton" -- but the project, like its cover, feels refreshingly open, floating contemplatively amid global contexts and local tales.
As with all of Dave's works, WAAITT is defined by its statement pieces. The album's seven-plus-minute monoliths employ his talents to different ends: "In the Fire" is an awe-striking Avengers Assemble of U.K. rap, "Both Sides of a Smile" folds conflicted romances into James Blake's harmonies, and "Heart Attack" provides another meditative masterwork. They are brought to fulmination, like the "Question Time"s before them, by the rapper's ageless insight and evocative lyricism. "In the Fire" employs a reference to Jakub Błaszczykowski as not just a triple entendre but a brutal allegory for losing a parent to immigration services.
Among the set's shorter cuts are a wealth of staples: the minimalist strut of "Titanium" and "Funky Friday" finds a solid counterpart in "Verdansk" and "Clash," while PSYCHODRAMA's sublime opener/closer combo is matched by "We're All Alone" and "Survivor's Guilt." Dave even manages to succeed where Fredo's "Hickory Dickory Dock" so publicly fell, nailing nursery-rhyme trappings on "Twenty to One." The only dip in excellence is with the airier "Law of Attraction" and "System," which feel out of sync with the album's core in a way that "Purple Heart" and "Location" didn't. Adrift on the open sea, Dave makes a potent second statement. His first steps outside of PSYCHODRAMA's concrete sphere of influence continue to cement his generational talent.
© David Crone /TiVo