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7.0/10
The Compton-born R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Steve Lacy is back with his third official studio album 'Gemini Rights', following his debut 'Apollo XXI' and my personal favorite Lacy album 'The Lo-Fis'.
Gemini Rights starts off with "Static", a subtle intro track with some layered vocals which I thoroughly enjoyed. This song is good, but nothing too crazy to write home about. "Helmet" follows shortly after and is at best... awkward. The vocal flow does not match the beat really at all. Lyrically, however, it is decent storytelling and I like the clever "got my heart a helmet" which made me do the laugh where I exhale through my nose a bit. "Mercury", however, is a strong track with a beat that almost gives off this Spanish music vibe. It's very funky with a bit of distortion which I found to add good texture to the track. This track is all-around nice on the ears and is in my opinion the most replayable song on the album.
The album after "Mercury" goes through a bit of an unfortunate fall-off. "Buttons" sounds to me like a filler track, and "Bad Habit" is an average track you'd expect from Lacy and there's really nothing to write home about as far as that song goes. "Cody Freestyle", however, was a pleasant surprise to me. I'd never expect to hear airy synths like that on a Steve Lacy song. I the melody in this track and all-around vocal flow I enjoyed, and the production on the vocals was very floaty with echo and reverb. The next two songs following this were bland to me. "Sunshine" was alright, Lacy's vocals, in the beginning, were great to the ear, but the song was just too mellow and flat throughout, with a breath of fresh air near the end of the track with the little instrumental breakdown. The ending track is good and soft, with Lacy showcasing his amazing vocal range.
This album was just alright. There are great moments and meh moments. Steve Lacy still needs to work on his consistency, which I know he is talented enough to do.
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