Any speculation that
Trey Songz
was out of gas in 2019 and early 2020 -- following
Tremaine the Album
and two mixtapes in 2017 and 2018 -- is invalidated by
Back Home
. Nearly 70 minutes in length, the singer's eighth album is loaded with adequate slow jams, and his voice can still elevate middling material. There are a few clear standouts, most obviously the title song, a duet with natural match
Summer Walker
that projects conflicting emotions (and a clever
New Edition
quote) rather than comfort. The gospel protest song "2020 Riots: How Many Times," recorded in response to the police killing of George Floyd and originally released on its own, is out of place amid all the explicitly carnal material, but it's an important part of
Trey
's catalog and would no doubt make early supporter
Aretha Franklin
proud. Almost every track is co-produced workmanlike by close partner
Troy Taylor
.
also has a new collaborator, his one-year-old son, somewhat amusingly credited from top to bottom as a co-writer. ~ Andy Kellman