Joe Lington – Trust (Album Review)

‘Trust’, the 2nd album by rapidly rising R&B star Joe Lington, is a revealing dive into the artist’s personal motivations and inspirations for his stylish brand of retro R&B-soul, as well as showing Lington’s potential to deliver slick beats and smooth vocals.

Containing 13 tracks that not only impressively showcase Lington’s Cameroonian heritage, influences from old-school R&B artists, and his confident vocals in English, French, Cameroonian, and even German, but also his undeniable skills in music composition and production, ‘Trust’ is an album of high quality that will inspire a myriad of emotions in its listeners.

Beginning the album with a short but sweet opener ‘She Got Me’, Lington executes an unexpected but welcome intro in German over an acoustic guitar base. The song kicks off ‘Trust’ in the most groovy of ways and proves that no matter his language of choice, Lington’s vocals will always be top-tier.

The 3rd track, ‘I Gotta Be With You’, is a modern acoustic jam with Lington bouncing effortlessly between French and English. Featuring dreamy lyrics such as “You’re the only girl I see in my dreams” and “Baby you’re the only one”, Lington dials up the romance with vocals smooth as silk and some epic use of vibrato. Having said this, his performance is never over the top; the combination of Lington’s suave croon with some classic soul-inspired backing vocals provides a listening experience that sounds truly magical.

Track 5, ‘Africa’, is where Lington really enters into a class of his own with ‘Trust’. Starting with a spoken intro and cleanly transitioning into a refreshing vocal mix featuring backing vocals by guest singer Lady FI, traditional African percussion soon works its way into the mix. It is a song that keeps building on its entirely organic sound in the most natural progression, and it’s a thrilling experience to hear it unfold.

On ‘Yeah’, Lington experiments with alternate vocal techniques on a track that starts out almost as acapella; an addictive refrain (“to the left, left, left”) punctuated by muffled growls and energetic adlibs, proves that Lington is just as comfortable in his lower vocal register as he is in his more frequently used falsetto.

Featuring a hip rap section courtesy of guest vocalist Otaku Black, the song ventures into uncharted territory for the album, and serves as another example of the stellar production value Lington has achieved here.

The inspirations and motivations for this album are revealed in the track ‘Trust’, where Lington delivers a rousing speech about the unity between his 3 different cultures; “One African, another one English, and the last one French”. As the singer delves deeper into the conflicting aspects of his identity and his personal outlook on the cultural and social experiences he has grown up with, it is touching to hear how this multicultural identity has evolved into Lington’s profile as an international artist.

Read: Joe Lington – Focus (Album Review)

It is clear that ‘Trust’ is a very personal endeavour for Lington; his willingness to share his messages of cultural unity with his audiences presents him as a role model of personal expression through embracing his roots.

The star explores his vulnerabilities in ‘Intro My Mother’ and ‘My Mother’, utilising the former as a short dramatic introduction where Lington frankly airs his strained relationship with his parent. With a string and piano-led instrumental layered beneath a soulful vocal performance, it is hard not to be affected by the emotion that flows out of this honest ballad.

Lington’s choice to experiment with the structure of this album, including an intro, interlude, spoken passages, and of course full-length songs, means that Lington can freely express his creative flare for composing and producing in a way that feels fresh and unique. These decisions lead to the audience being taken on an emotional journey through the sounds of Africa and the Western World throughout their listening experience and undoubtedly left feeling like a new side to the slick-imaged R&B star has been revealed to them.

Score/Excellent: ‘Trust’ does not merely stand as Joe Lington’s 2nd album, but also feels like a triumphant homecoming for the R&B and soul artist. Here he has proven that he can deliver top-class production on poppy bangers, seductive ballads, and colourful songs bursting with pride for his multicultural heritage. What’s not to like?

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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