PARTYNEXTDOOR 2 Review

Releasing  on July 29, 2014 was a piece of work which was arguably at the top of the list of releases to come out in 2014, PartyNextDoor 2 by a 21-year-old who is talented as hell and the reason I believe in R&B again. PartyNextDoor 2 singles released prior to the album dropping include ‘Her Way’ (dropped on July 13) and ‘Recognize’ (dropped on July 15).  Being a protégé of Drake sets artists up for a fan base stemming from the obsessed Tumblr junkies like myself who discovered The Weeknd on Tumblr over a year ago. Heavily influenced by the drug culture, PartyNextDoor paints a pretty picture of his world in Canada and his travels. But through and through, there’s something different about PartyNextDoor that was missing in R&B and computer generated music. Listeners realized this if they’ve listened to PARTYNEXTDOOR’s original self-titled EP digitally released last year on July 1. If you’re a pirate like me you had the EP months before that release.  The vocals in cohesion with the production as a whole make you want to listen to the music over and over in order. I’m guilty of doing this when I first discovered PartyNextDoor. When ‘Make A Mil’ the single dropped last year in the spring this is how many listeners were introduced to PartyNextDoor. That was also the way he presented his entry into the world of Ovo Sound an entity of Warner Brothers Music via Drake.  Little known facts for the fact obsessed out there, ‘Come Thru’ and ‘Own It’ off of Drake’s most recent album featured some background vocals from PartyNextDoor. The talent that lies within PartyNextDoor is how he seems to know the right things to say to the analog girls in the millennial generation. Fortunately for him some listeners don’t care about lyrics but as a Tumblr girl born in the 90’s who grew up listening to Jodeci, R.Kelly, Boyz II Men and old school R&B before black boy bands it was crazy how deeply attached I got to PartyNextDoor. It’s almost hard to stop listening to his music. The tracks on PartyNextDoor 2 are the ghosts of So Far Gone brought back to life to haunt overly emotional, naïve women who are drawn to men that are hipsters that probably used to intern and write at Complex.  PartyNextDoor 2 sexually objectifies women in a way that almost has not been done before. It’s a peek into the looking glass of how emotionally hip artists view women. This creates a comfortable barrier for men and women alike. The hint of drug culture, Canadian culture, the scenery of Miami and emotionally riveting beats combined with unique vocals make the album some of the best music released in all of 2014.

PartyNextDoor

The tracks on PartyNextDoor’s debut EP had tracks like the banger ‘Wild Bitches’ that pretty much tells you what you need to know about his music. With no knowledge of this artist I was a bit taken aback from the language but the way the track meshes perfectly with the beat is supreme. The rawness PartyNextDoor presents on this track had me hooked after my first listen. Arguably one of the best tracks on the EP is ‘Relax With Me’. This song isn’t relaxing but it seemingly probes the minds of hipsters in college who party Thursday thru Sunday which in my book always wins. ‘Right Now’ starts with ‘You could be his forever but tonight you’re mine’ and that almost sums up the song. PartyNextDoor knows how to portray Miami. When he said ‘I’m in a room full of dancers all of us Cancers’ I knew that I had found an artist that I could feel comfortable obsessing over. ‘Make A Mil’ is literally a perfect song because it’s produced well. The echoes and combination of sounds make the track enjoyable to listen to. The lyrics are irrelevant if you just like the chorus like I do. 'Tbh' is my favorite song on the EP probably because it gives me Love Jones teas. It makes me think about someone wandering around looking for me and I know that they’ll never catch me. This track is passionate and emotional. It’s about feelings and love, two reasons I love it ‘I can feel that you don’t love me no more’. ‘Wus Good Curious’ is a sex song for those who aren’t ready. ‘Good loving feels so numb’ are the opening lyrics to the track, with that being said, PartyNextDoor presents this song as a good track to throw on if you’re dealing with an analog girl who is also obsessed with Tumblr and Twitter. ‘Ballin’ is my second favorite track on the EP. It closes the EP dramatically. After cooning to the Tumblr girls, PartyNextDoor then shows you, you can’t afford to keep him since he’s grinding. He still claims you but just know he’s out trying to make money while he’s been touring, producing and making PartyNextDoor. This track is easy to listen to over and over again because it’s aesthetically pleasing as a whole. It’s sheer perfection. 

‘East Liberty’

‘The summers over and we’re watching the sun finally set’ is the opening set of lyrics to this nostalgic track which sets the tone for the entire album. This track is a relaxed beginning to the masterpiece PartyNextDoor 2. Pointing out that no one wants a lazy lover and presenting that the ocean is calling a woman’s name are reasons that PartyNextDoor is the next big thing in R&B for sure. This track symbolizes the end of the summer and how emotional that is and can be to those born in the summer months.

‘SLS’

Beginning with a conversation about mimosas is a way to draw the attraction the listeners who are obsessed with brunching on Sundays. These listeners are bourgeoisie and are probably ‘sophistiratchet’ students or graduates working a 9 to 5. Blending sex, pleasure and parties is what PartyNextDoor does best. He nonchalantly escalates the hook by raising the beat and raising his vocals which isn’t overwhelming prior to the 1:00 mark. This dramatizes the track yet this doesn’t take away any value from the track. The last 30 seconds are relaxing and end the track beautifully.

‘Sex On The Beach’ Produced by Neenyo

Disclosure sample ‘Latch’ makes this track a banger. This track is one of my favorites on this album. Opening up and being comfortable enough to partake in fantasies on the beach in Miami sounds easy and artistic according to PartyNextDoor. The track is fresh, airy and was produced to be so. The slow, intentional, steady build up leading to the chorus provide a brief intermission for the song to build itself over time. Overall the track is reminiscent of 'HoustonAtlantaVegas'.

‘Her Way’

Released prior to the album a few months ago, this track highlights the drug infused party culture which PartyNextDoor thrives off of. The digital cult-like following PartyNextDoor has gets stronger when he releases tracks like this. The production is supreme and the lyrics are simple, meaning it has a larger following than more intrinsic, emotional tracks on this album. Name dropping Lindsay Lohan proves the steady amount of drug soliloquys he wishes to paint within the album. Titling the song Her Way proves the effortless power of women no matter their color. PartyNextDoor utters the words light skinned and dark skinned in a tone that doesn’t take away from any of their beauty equalizing the terms. The last minute and 30 seconds of the track are alluring, not deep in any way, but this piece of the song pulls in listeners and legitimizes the track.

‘Belong To the City’

This track is seemingly an interlude within the album that probes the mind of PartyNextDoor. It’s a beautiful piece to the puzzle which the album is. The tones present in this song are drawn out yet necessary.

‘Grown Ass Woman’ Produced by Neenyo & PartyNextDoor

This track praises the beauty in a woman that has her shit together but still is unsure of the trials thrown her way. PartyNextDoor effortlessly questions the emotional buildup of women which is a reason I’m a fan. By doing this he tests the emotional barrier emotional listeners like me have while we’re hearing and breaking down his lyrics amongst the music. The last minute or so of this track flow in a stream that creates a dichotomy between being emotional and emotionless.

‘FWU’

This is one of my favorite tracks on this album due to the vocal experiments, lyrics and chorus blending into an emotional piece of art. This track presents PartyNextDoor’s vulnerable side. It shows how he feels about a special listener that probably knows this song is for her. ‘FWU’ legitimizes the difference between the acronym and sex. To listeners who are women it makes you wonder if someone feels like this about you. ‘FWU’ is a rollercoaster; this track is easily one of the most affluent on the album. The track symbolizes the difficulty in proving to someone that you’re interested in them; at times this is a difficult task for most artists. But when you’re dealing with real individuals it’s worth it.

‘Recognize’ ft. Drake

Irreplaceably the most catchy song of the summer this track is a club banger from start to finish. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was hearing this song for the entire fall semester back at school. ‘You got niggas and I got bitches, but I want you to turn up on me’ are reasons this song is real as hell. Recognizing that despite baggage and smoking you know who you want is real. Drake adds an emo twist to the track with ‘Who do you fuck in the city when I’m not there’ .  PartyNextDoor is bluntly calling out to the baddest woman in the club that he spots or his main woman in his life.

‘Options’

This is one of the darkest tracks on the album. I love it for this reason. ‘Fuck all that noise’ is one of my favorite lyrics in the track and so is ‘They sleeping on you’. The woman in the middle of the song speaking is perfect for the aura of the song. When I first heard this track I thought of the previous Future tracks I had heard throughout the year. PartyNextDoor’s vocals are top notch on this track. From beginning to end this track is monumental. The lyrics are emotional as well as riveting throughout.

‘Thirsty’

‘Thirsty’ is my favorite track on the album. The beat in the beginning of the song with the honest, probing lyrics are reasons I’m obsessed. The term thirsty is popular amongst millennials. PartyNextDoor speaks about timing which is the computer generated millennials main enemy since before we were even conscious of time. ‘You taste so purified’, ‘Open up to me and drop your guard I need the proof, cause’ I still need to know if you have a heart’, ‘Promise to love you and obey’ these lyrics almost brought me to tears the first time I listened to this track. The combination of the mellow production and the lyrics make the song more emotional depending on the listener.  ‘Bring it over’ is the trigger on the gun for me, it triggers my emotions. That sentence is like a climax to me. It’s the beginning of the long, body riveting orgasm which the song is to me.  The aesthetic of the album is tested with a track like this. It contrasts with the other tracks on the album. This song shows that PartyNextDoor longs for a life changing love despite the battles he will have to go thru to get it. The last minute or so of the track is like you’re waiting for the track to end but don’t want it to. When it finally ends and ‘Bout It’ starts you don’t feel bad for becoming emotionally vulnerable during this track.

‘Bout It’

Pill popping bitches, drugs, sex and foreplay are present in this track. It’s a feisty track full of name dropping. The euphemism for a phallic symbol is anaconda. ‘Your body is pure gold’ is my favorite line within this track. It presents how some men view some golden women who change their lives for a night or a lifetime. ‘Is you bout it’ is the constant question throughout the track. One questions if they are bout it whenever PartyNextDoor utters that sentence. The breakdown of the track is easy to get lost in. It’s riveting and unique.

‘Muse’

One of my favorite tracks on this album due to the effortlessly sexy essence it contains. ‘Girl I can see you’re stressed, come rely on me for sex’, ‘mindful of liquor’ and ‘let me demonstrate’ paint a beautiful picture of what he wishes to do to his muse. When he starts singing about modeling for him along with sexually teasing him the track gets realer. The steady, calm beat and his voice are enjoyable. The last 30 seconds are sexy as hell and memorable.

To purchase PartyNextDoor's album click here.