6/28/19
7:18 PM
Daniel Caesar breaks the silence after two years by following up his breakout debut album—Freudian, with his second studio project titled Case Study 01.
The album— so aptly named, shows specific natures of science and how it can affect the human emotion. Tracks such as “ENTROPY” and “SUPERPOSITION” give light on how Caesar’s experiences and feelings correlate with scientific cases.
-
Case Study 01 holds merit in just the talents that are featured. Musical authorities such as Brandy, Pharrell Williams, and John Mayer bring weighted expectations upon the album, as well as credit the artist that Daniel Caesar has become over the recent years.
The development of the Canadian singer’s sound hasn’t necessarily transformed, but rather matured and developed by picking up a few more qualities while retaining its original tonal range and general feel. Caesar takes his simple, romantic, and longing impressions and compliments them with bass-heavy rings, electronic drums, and pitching his vocals in a way that faintly resembles some of Frank Ocean’s work. While implementing new components to his music, all the instrumentation— traditional and nontraditional both— are placed skillfully and executed to create a subtle complexity. In a way that seems benevolent and modest, a beautiful simplicity sums up the atmosphere of the album which has been carefully crafted. Case Study 01 in its essence is pure— the acoustic elements and the studio factors come clean, undiluted, and straightforward.
The content of this album…is a huge contradiction in and of itself. Much of Caesar’s lyrics find regards to his newfound success and fortunes, in which the young musician does not shy away from telling his listeners. Caesar mentions his past persona and minor standings and compares them to his now glorified lifestyle fabricated in sex, drinking, and fame. The pseudo lifestyle that he himself despises is made to look glamorous in his mind and is even pronounced by none other than himself. Where the sweet and serene words used to reside, has been occupied by ideas of carnal desires or empty satisfactions; motivations derivative towards others have transitioned into a self-centered inclination, which portray the change within himself.
Another contradiction commonly seen in Daniel Caesar is that of religious themes— elevating this paradox, the background inspirations of Case Study 01 draws from science, often thought to be antithesis of faith. In an album inspired by distinctive instances of theories and observations, there are just as many, if not more specific biblical references. Caesar plays with the thematic idea of ironies and a heavy portion of his writing pertains to it.
-
However, underneath all this seemingly outward change in his inspirations and character, Daniel Caesar still seems to be focused and chasing after the same end-goal: contentment and fulfillment in love (or whatever else he’s looking for).
The way that Daniel Caesar uses breaks and extended pauses within songs and between, is something that keeps the listener in suspense and supplements that style changes that occur through out the album. Overall, the album is artfully made, with the first half of the work centering around his metamorphosis to extravagance, the latter half being more profound and resolute. What started as a really nice album culminated into an incredible musical experience. I would emphatically recommend dedicating 43 minutes to listen to Case Study 01 in its entirety for the optimal listening.
Listen to the album below:
