Mr. Hudson has never been the most popular talent in music. Despite a cult following since his debut album, A Tale of Two Cities, in 2007, he just hasn’t had enough popularity to catch fire. Straight No Chaser is his attempt to change that, and he succeeds the jump to mainstream – or, at least, he should.The album is a breakup album that is electronic pop with a tasteful use of autotune that creates a sense of desperation and avoids obscuring his talented voice. Kanye West and Kid Cudi provide the only guest performances, leaving Mr. Hudson to take center stage for the rest of the album and completely dominate it.
I have no idea if the lyrics in these songs are personal – but if they are, then Mr. Hudson is in a world of turmoil. “There Will Be Tears,” the bleakest of these songs, has the heaviest use of autotune. You wouldn’t even recognize his voice if you didn’t know it was him, but that may be the point – as if he doesn’t recognize himself. If every song on the album were like this, then I would say go drown yourself instead.
Fortunately, most of the songs – while just as moping – are much more energetic and even danceable in some cases. The title track is mesmerizing, “Stiff Upper Lip” can actually be seen as hilarious, and “White Lies” manages to be a charming display of why love could make a person lie.
Kanye West is featured in two of the best songs on the album, with him singing in duet with Hudson on
“Supernova” and providing a taunting verse on “Anyone But Him.” Unfortunately, the collaboration with Kid Cudi is a missed opportunity – I always thought he was a stronger singer than rapper, and hearing a 15 second rap verse on “Everything Is Broken” where you can barely understand him is disappointing when his singing vocals could have been better used.
While this album is not available in the US (not yet anyway) it has managed to gain great popularity in the UK. The themes Mr. Hudson presents here are as genuine as they come, and I will especially have that title track on repeat for some time.
