For his first album since 2015's
Return of the Tender Lover,
Babyface pairs up with established and emergent contemporary R&B artists, all of whom are women younger than his first solo hit. Although the rotational co-headliner nature of the album might bring to mind
Lucky Daye's
Table for Two -- a Grammy-winning recording that happens to feature a few of the singers on-board here -- it's quite different, not strictly duets, with
Babyface most often in a supporting role. It all plays out like an experiment or exercise rather than a proper album. Each song was written and recorded in a day, and since the women are always at the fore, the set comes across as a method for
Babyface to adapt to writing and producing for considerably younger artists, and as a way to put himself out there to continue collaborating with that generation. Most of these songs would be fine deep cuts on LPs by
Babyface's guests. Unsurprisingly, those who have either directly referenced or evoked '80s and '90s R&B -- especially
Ella Mai,
Muni Long, and
Kehlani -- turn out to be most compatible. Production-wise,
Babyface splits duties with an assortment of collaborators including
D'Mile,
Khris Riddick-Tynes, and
Sir Dylan (son of
Tony! Toni! Tone!'s
Dwayne Wiggins, and onetime
Kehlani bandmate). Echoes from
Babyface's past -- samples of the tender lover's own "Whip Appeal" and "Soon as I Get Home," and
Tevin Campbell's "Can We Talk" -- are integrated in clever, subtle fashion. ~ Andy Kellman
