Chris Dave and the Drumhedz

Best Tracks: Black Hole, Rocks Crying, Whatever
Genre: Neo Soul, Post Jazz
Year: 2018

Chris Dave’s first solo album is a concept album on the power of music- a cheesy message, but delivered as a victory lap by Bilal, Shafiq Husayn, Pino Palladino, and James Poyser. Supported by a new wave of west coast musicians, not to mention Anderson .Paak, Elzhi, and Isaiah Sharkey. This album is the same sort of blend of neo-soul, hip hop, jazz, funk, and psychedelia the Soulquarians pioneered, but Chris Dave pushes it even further into jazz rhythms and psychedelic effects.

The album begins with an atmospheric, spacey opener that transitions into a dark funk rock groove, led by Dave’s stellar drumming. Delay and feedback pile on top of the instruments, drawing from the more experimental Hendrix and Funkadelic tracks. The heavy psychedelic rock touches on this album are what set it apart from other albums in the genre. “Black Hole” is a flawless funk track, not unlike something off Mama’s Gun. “Whatever” is another highlight, going for a more subdued, neo-soul sound. “Clear View” is also worth listening to, with an emotional performance from Anderson .Paak, and dark, shifting instrumentation to match. The beat switch towards the end of the track gave me goosebumps.

As a session musician himself, Chris Dave puts some relatively unknown musicians up against the popular features he has access to, perfectly showcasing what everyone has to offer. Every corner of this album has a talented musician playing their heart out. It’s almost as if he didn’t have the heart to cut any performance, which unfortunately, means the album is quite bloated. Much of this project is skippable, due largely to uninspired writing and a lack of clear direction. If the weak tunes were cut and “Trippy Tipsy” was extended into a 10-minute jam to give the session players their flowers, I think that would’ve made for a better front-to-back experience.