Joe Lington – Focus (Album Review)

The landscape of R&B and soul (as well as its darling cousin whom I adore, neo-soul) is a tricky one to deal with these days. These genres never truly fade out of existence when it comes to music in general. Pop melodies since the 80s and 90s have been infused with these genres, a far cry from the typical pop melody one will think of when they think of 50s pop music. I, myself, as an artist, intersect with these genres a lot. Whether someone wants to ascribe a certain kind of ethnocentrism as to why these genres are so permeable or not, it really is quite undeniable in its universal reach.

In that sense, Joe Lington expands upon the current and past repertoire of how universal R&B and soul is with his multi-cultural influences as well as his own infatuation with old-school R&B artists such as Sisqo and Keith Sweat. He is a very interesting artist to me, as even though he puts these genres at the forefront of his marketing, he absolutely shines in his varied influences infused with these genres. It is clear that he has had some sort of classical training, as well as certain cultural quirks that pop up, possibly paying homage to his Cameroonian roots as well.

For this review, I will be completely analysing the album ‘Focus’ by the aforementioned artist. He is set to release an album titled ‘Pinkeen’ in 2024, and as a primer to the quality of his artistry, it is crucial that we analyse his body of work to anticipate what is about to come.

Track 1: Focus

Focus serves as an introductory track, mainly for stylistic reasons as well as theatrical reasons. It has tinges of hyperfuturistic synths as well as elements of anticipation, however, I find that these interesting elements get overshadowed by how cheesy the vocals are in this particular track. As a result, it cannot truly shine.

Track 2: Are You Ready

The element of trying to emulate the candid nature of certain soul songs with a spoken message, albeit intentionally significant, does not always work in songs. It reminds me of how Wizkid attempted the same candid-ry with ‘Everyday’, in adding Maya Angelou’s spoken message in the beginning. However, I find that this particular attempt in ‘Are You Ready’ gets drawn out, because it is almost a little too long. It reminds me of concerts in the 70s when the artist would pause their music to address the audience. It works in a one-off instance, or in a live recording, but I find this particularly awkward. The vocals towards the end does not help to save the song, as the beat then descends into a beat reminiscent of 2010s ‘swag’ music. I’m not a particular fan of this track.

Track 3: Changerais

My mood absolutely changed when I listened to this song. The introduction has a warm, beautiful, and soulful chord structure, reminding me of some of Maxwell’s work. The bass wraps this song up in extreme sensuality and closeness. Joe’s vocals also shined in this song. The song is entirely in French, and I do think that sometimes, singing in a language you’re more comfortable with will lead to a better performance and delivery. I found his English segments quite awkward in the previous track, but his voice is absolutely glistening and smooth in this track. My only critique of this track though, is that it is way too short. Loved this track.

Track 4: You & Me ft frederic

This song is truly unfortunate. Why do I say that? The two vocalists have their own niche, which I can tell is extremely distinct, and they are good in their individual vocal styles. However, poor songwriting absolutely ruins this song in terms of production as well as song structure. The beat is very generic, as well as the guitar riffs. The only unique trait about this song is the bass playing. I find no problem with both of the artist’s vocal segments… I just wished they had a better produced track to showcase their wonderful vocal tones. Frederic has an amazing, husky country-esque voice and Joe has a beautiful falsetto.

Track 5: Issa

The introduction of this song actually reminded me of a lot of field recordings of folk West African music. It is simple, but heartwarming in what it makes me mentally associate with. It is quaint, homely, and his voice layered in different tones give it an otherworldly feel. There even are some particular Cameroonian guitar licks, percussion as well as vocal ad-libs. I absolutely loved this track. I could see it being the backing track to a film set in Cameroon, with a turquoise tint. Just like those indie art films!

Track 6: My Way

Unfortunately, another skippable track for me. It does have interesting electronic elements at the beginning, but the beat is extremely outdated to me. I have to wonder if my age or fascination with new advances in music is affecting my bias at this point, and some outdated aspects of music can be re-hashed, but I don’t think sampling is at the forefront of the intent of this song. Joe’s vocal delivery is great in this song, but the production quality just ruins it, as well as the mid 00s style of rapping.

Track 7: Maman Interlude

Quite a poignant interlude, I must say.

Track 8: Maman

The interlude fades nicely into Maman, however, I find that the strings sound too strongly like an early MIDI file. They remind me of the MIDI-string backing tracks of Nollywood, and these days nostalgia is clutch- which means I can possibly excuse that. However, I can tell that his intended vocal delivery is meant to be primarily R&B in certain aspects of this song, that conflicts with the backing track. As much as he is amazing in extending his vocal ability, this song should be kept within a certain bound of ‘not oversinging’- that way, it can resonate to a semi-diasporic audience reminiscing and forgiving the lack of a refined instrumentation.

Track 9: Call Me Maybe

I knew from the sound of the electronic organ that I’d genuinely feel something for this song. I’ve always loved the tone and timbre of the electronic organ, and its association with early electronic music further refines the association that it represents a sense of evergreen nostalgia. I love the tinges of instruments in this, such as the saxophone clip that gives it more of a house feel. As with other songs in this album, it seems like the ones that are primarily sung in French tend to have a better quality. The song then breaks into a beautiful interlude with a piano piece, and then goes back to show how sometimes, simplicity and authenticity leads way to a decent song. Loved this.

Track 10: Alone

Ah, this piece takes you into a classical wonderland, reminiscent of ‘Fantasia’ by Walt Disney. Due to its length, I assume this is a semi-interlude, but it is so wonderfully done. The ‘rustyness’ yet lush imagery of the sound reminds me of ‘Love Are Like Sirens’ by Kinara. As much as this song doesn’t necessarily has much more to give, it leaves a statement in my mind.

Track 11: Tout Seul

A soulful, stripped-down single that reminds me of Craig David’s style of music. The song is essentially ‘unplugged’ and acoustic, and doesn’t do much for me in terms of instrumentation. I’m sure the lyrics would enhance the song, as it gives me the impression that it is one of the songs that require understanding to fully grasp, but it is a decent, mid-tier ballad. I wish the drum beats were a little different though, as to me, they clash with the soundscape of the song. Joe’s vocals shine particularly in this song. His vocals oscillate between earnestness and a ‘fact of matter’ tone.

Track 12: Partir

One of the better songs on this album to me. The intro chords are heartwarming, yet serious. They remind me of the comfort of the disarray of a rainy day. I’m also absolutely in love with the synthesizer pads in this track. It also has sparks of shine, and shimmer with the effects added. Joe’s vocals absolutely glide through this track, and his background vocals as well as layered vocals give this track the depth that it needs. I really, really adore this track.

Track 13: I Wanna Be

Off the bat, the guitar in this track sounds a little too MIDI-esque. Whatever VST they’re using does not make the guitar sound authentic. The structure of the song is not bad at all, it almost sounds like something that could be marketable in the niche of French indie music- but this whole song just sounds like an unfinished demo. Not the best quality, in my humble opinion.

Track 14: Accuse

Genius. That’s one word I genuinely have to use for the instrumentation of this track. It is a blend of pure jazz, improv jazz, as well as neo-soul! It reminds me of Jill Scott, but with the sass of current-day Benjamin Clementine ala Lovelustreman. One of the best tracks on this album. The drums are tight, sound acoustically appropriate, and the bass hugs the track perfectly. The backing vocals are synced perfectly to Joe’s almost beat poet’ stride. The piano has trills within its melody, reminding me of Mark Garson. It also has a high amount of musical variability, with the piano going into improv at certain points. This song is a treat to the brain. 

Track 15: SMB

Once again, for some reason, this song follows the pattern of badly produced and aged attempts at reviving hip-hop and R&B of the past. This track is just not produced well. Certain aspects of the instrumentation stick out as if a child made the backing track on FL Studio mobile. The song follows the format of certain songs made in the time period of ‘03 to ‘06, however, I don’t think revivalist movements in music work. It would’ve been better to use the format of inspiration for this song with a better eye (or shall I say, ear) to today’s music. We’re going through somewhat of a mid to late 2000s revival, so I really think this track could work as an inspiration to something- but not as a standalone song.

Track 16: Ce Monde

The instrumentation starts off quite quirky, which I don’t mind. The violin adds a very interesting tone to the song. It’s clear that this song has a vintage R&B influence, almost like it could’ve been a demo on ‘Invincible’, but this song does not escape the ‘demo’ feel. It needs to be electronically refined. Nothing too outstanding about this song in my opinion.

With all the tracks being individually analysed, I must say that this is one of the strangest albums I’ve had to listen to because it had extremely high peaks and low troughs. The songs that are great in this album are almost of splendid, amazing nature, but the songs that are bad are simply not salvageable. As a learning point, I will say that listening to this album will teach you that if you are patient enough you will always find gems in a body of work- I could’ve completely disregarded the album, but there are too many distinct songs sandwiched in this to ignore.

The songs that I truly recommend from this album, that are unskippable are Changerais, Issa, Call Me Maybe, Alone, Teut Seul, Partir, and Accuse.

I think Joe Lington as an artist should focus on his strengths- classical training, multicultural influences, mixed with R&B and neo-soul influences to create unique songs that sound amazing even if I do not speak a lick of French instead of attempting to recreate dated hits. 

Rating/Good  – ‘Focus’ is an album that has great songs sandwiched in it, that completely obliterates the mediocrity of a lot of songs on this album. For the distinct talent and ingenuity that the greatest songs of this album have, I have to rate this album as good. The songs recommended are not to be missed.

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