Freudian, the debut studio album of Canadian singer and songwriter Daniel Caesar, was released on August 25th, 2017, by Golden Child Recordings. After releasing his 2015 EP, Pilgrim’s Paradise, Caesar took the studios and began writing and recording Freudian. Recruiting the many likes of Kali Uchis, H.E.R., Syd, and many more, the album started taking shape. Upon release, the album was faced with a plethora of mixed reviews, but the general consensus saw the album being acclaimed highly. While the album did lose Best R&B Album, “Best Part” won Best R&B Performance at the 61st Grammy Awards.
Introduction
Daniel Caesar certainly knocked this project out of the park. Taking clear influence from the likes of John Mayer and Frank Ocean, he wonderfully constructed a ten-song project that packs a punch in every line. Production was taken very seriously when coming up with the structure, and again, nearly every part of the project has meaning behind why it was constructed that way. Daniel, as well as the features, brings some of the best vocal performances on an R&B project that one could listen to. Pairing all of this with the emotional connection Caesar had, and he certainly created a masterful debut project.
Production
Daniel, with the likes of a handful of others, produced the album. Starting from the first second of the first track to the final second of the final track, there is a reason for the way it sounds the way it does. Many songs feature structures meant to add to the meaning or vibe of the track. “Loose” has no structure and is Daniel just singing lines, but the song is meant to mimic a stream of consciousness, which just adds another layer of depth to the project. As for instrumentals, Daniel is constantly using pianos, brass, and guitars, and wonderfully utilizes all three to again mimic how is he feeling on that certain track. Production level is a big steppingstone for this project, and Daniel capitalizes on it wonderfully.
Vocals/Appearances
The clear stand out to this project, as well as Daniel’s career is his voice. The focal point of the album is how he controls his voice and utilizes it. The first two tracks, which are the two best on the project, feature an extremely high-pitched tone. Daniel’s capabilities to hit these notes, while being able to also take his voice lower when needed, is an outstanding quality of the project. When listening to the project fully, the similarities in him and Frank Ocean are immediately apparent. When meshing his own vocals with the four features he has on the project, he again capitalizes on their abilities and swings his voice to match what the other artists brought to the table.
Meaning
Freudian follows Daniel’s previous EP, as he is finally climbing up in this project. It follows his being able to finally come to terms with the ending of his relationship, and he seemingly feels like he is in better headspace. Many of the songs bring their own twist to this thought, and the first half of the project is him trying to find meaning to the relationship while weighing the ending of it. Daniel finally finds his way to end the relationship by the midpoint of the project, and with that Freudian seems like it is nearing its end. The final tracks see Caesar reflecting on the whole process and the relationship as a whole, eventually coming to his final peace.
Conclusion
Freudian is a wonderful debut project and sent Daniel Caesar to stardom. Fitting his emotions connections he intended to touch on with project was no easy task, but the level of production and vocal performance hits the mark of the project’s intentions. All in all, this has been a classic R&B album that has stood the test of time.
Song Rankings:
- “Best Part” (feat. H.E.R.)
- “Get You” (feat. Kali Uchis)
- “Take Me Away” (fet. Syd)
- “We Find Love”
- “Transform” (feat. Charlotte Day Wilson)
- ‘Hold Me Down”
- “Loose”
- “Blessed”
- “Freudian”
- “Neu Roses (Transgressor’s Song)”
Strongest Track: The strongest track on the album is a toss-up between the top two songs, but ultimately, I personally gave it to “Best Part.” I feel like this song has a distinctive sound that none of the other tracks reach. The acoustic guitar was a wonderful heading for production and gave much more life to Daniel’s outstanding vocals. This song, to me, just does a little more than “Get You.”
Best Feature: With that being said, the best feature also goes to H.E.R. Moving past the rest of the song, she provides an outstanding touch to the song. Her vocals are on point, blending near perfectly with the guitar. Furthermore, the chorus which features both her and Daniel is one of the best sounding parts of the whole project.
Final Notes
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just our opinion. We would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give Freudian a listen for yourself.