MUTT [Black Ice LP]

by Leon Thomas

Overview

In a matter of 13 months, Leon Thomas released Electric Dusk, his first album for Ty Dolla $ign's Motown-affiliated EZMNY label, and returned with MUTT, his second one. As a writer and producer, he also had a hand in multiple songs on Bryson Tiller's self-titled LP, Charlotte Day Wilson's Cyan Blue, and Vultures 1 and 2. Factoring all that, "HOW FAST," the revved-up cinematic start to MUTT, could be heard as Thomas' escape from the studio to blow off steam and gloat. He's full of bravado, declaring himself a visionary, calculating his wealth, and hanging nightly at the strip club -- not the one where he broke up with his woman, mind -- though he avows that he should be settled down. Ambivalence and fleeting moments of certainty with regard to marital status fill Thomas' second album. Even the one that goes "I'm a dog, I'm a mutt," a soul ballad retrofitted with hulking drums and bass, is less a player's anthem than an admission and warning. While the album is a model work of sonic cohesion, wild changes in emotion and perspective are not uncommon. Take how the protagonist swings from indignant isolation on "FEELINGS ON SILENT" to begging for connection on "ANSWER YOUR PHONE." (The latter, a Diane Warren collaboration, is the only song Thomas didn't co-write.) Or how he follows "MUTT" with the finely-wrought "I DO," a thankful love song trailed by the lithe "I USED TO," a duet with Baby Rose that is all acid, bitter and sad. Most of the aforementioned action takes place near or during the second half. The section that precedes it contains some of Thomas' most creatively layered and emotionally complex songs yet. "SAFE PLACE," urgent and defiant, knocking and blaring, inserts a sample of Donny Hathaway asking, "Is that any way for a man to carry on?," and that can be taken as either support or objection. "DANCING WITH DEMONS" rides in on a foreboding bassline that gains strength when joined by a grinding Thomas guitar riff. "VIBES DON'T LIE" is so warped that it's easy to miss the humor ("We like Weezy and Styrofoam") and seemingly effortless falsetto on fogged-out display. Another latter-half highlight is "YES IT IS," an expression of sexual possessiveness with a gospel-fied chorus worthy of any given '90s vocal group. This is all alluring in the manner of a good neo-noir film. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2024
Label:	Motown
UPC:	0602475141884

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Leon Thomas   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Ty Dolla $ign   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Baby Rose   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Wale   Primary Artist,Rap
Freddie Gibbs   Primary Artist,Rap
Masego   Primary Artist,Vocals
Axl Folie   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jason Pounds   Composer,Producer
Shawn Barron   A&R
Lawson   Producer,Producer
Peter Lee Johnson   Composer,Producer
Henry Jenkins   Composer
Masego   Composer
David Thor   Composer
Hudson Whitlock   Composer
Rob Gueringer   Composer
Rodney Jones, Jr.   Composer,Producer
Joshua Brennan   Composer
Ali Prawl   Composer,Producer
Conductor Williams   Composer,Producer
Robert E. Fairfax III   Composer
Lazaro Camejo   Composer
Mamii   Composer,Producer
Axl Folie   Composer,Producer
Dave Kutch   Mastering Engineer
LaKia Smith   A&R
Yuli   Composer,Producer
David Phelps   Composer,Producer
FaxxOnly   Producer
Bam Beatzz   Producer
Quazelle Thompson   Recording
Frollen Music Library   Producer
Mami   Composer,Producer
Donny Hathaway   Composer
Jean-Marie Horvat   Mixing
Leon Thomas   Composer,Producer,Recording
Diane Warren   Composer
Oshi   Producer
Wale   Composer
Freddie Gibbs   Composer
Stanley Randolph   Composer,Producer
Steve Cook   A&R
Mike Hector   Composer,Producer
Chris Turner   A&R
Omar Grand   Composer,Producer
Brandon Avant   Composer
Baby Rose   Composer
Jehreeus Banks   Composer,Producer
Deavon Petty Chisolm   Composer
Freaky Rob   Composer,Producer
Nile Hargrove   Composer,Producer
Cam Griffin   Composer,Producer
Ty Dolla $ign   A&R,Composer