H.E.R - Back of My Mind

 

'Back of My Mind' is the debuting album from singer-songwriter 'H.E.R' that starts well with the opening 'We Made It.' The production is finely rhythmic with its percussion and bassline, complementing a blissful 'H.E.R.' Additionally, the guitar riff and piano outro was a nice touch. H.E.R is still the 'greatest all of the time in the back of her ex-lover's mind' in the title track, while Ty Dolla $ign background vocals are a mint breeze. In 'Trauma', anxiety is a seeming force within H.E.R. Over Hit-Boy's minimalistic instrumental, she recalls 'overthinking, needing to shrink, and stressing on the petty things.' Meanwhile, Cordae delivers compelling rap verses, questioning why compassion is seemingly a weakness and why is his empathy is misleading. 


In the love ballad, 'Damage,' the sampling of Herb Alpert's 'Making Love in The Rain' makes for a starry instrumental, as Ant Clemons and H.E.R harmonise nicely. Following 'Find A Way,' which features a decent Lil Baby verse, the record reaches its sonically intriguing point in Bloody Waters, featuring Thundercat and KAYTRANADA. The bassline is a charming groove that complements the smooth percussion and low-key synth wave. H.E.R rides the production as she protests against the 'corporate racists.'  


'Come Through' is a perplexing chapter on the record. While sonically a decent by the numbers RnB track, I never understood why H.E.R had found herself working with Chris Brown. Following a couple of decent songs about unfaithfulness and a forgettable 'Paradise,' H.E.R provides some finesse in 'Process.' Her delivery on the chorus is pleasantly charismatic as she rants about her ex-lover 'slowing up her progress.' 


The record does suffer from a sour final two tracks, sadly. 'I Can Have It All' is a lazy inclusion within the tracklist, as it is an edited down version of the original from DJ Khaled's 'Khaled Khaled' record. Additionally, 'Slide' is a painfully formulaic ending for the record.

'Back of My Mind' offers a pleasing showcase of H.E.R's beautiful vocals. The instrumentals and features, for the majority of the record, were nicely supplemental for H.E.R. However, a twenty-one song tracklist is a tad much. The inclusion of derivative cuts like 'Slide' and 'Come Through' and the lazy addition of 'I Can Have It All' was the album's more disappointing moments. Hopefully, her sophomore effort is more cohesive.

Best Track(s): Back of My Mind, We Made It, Trauma, Bloody Waters 

7/10


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