On his debut EP, Taves is stuck in gear one and selectively gets dynamic with expanding the scope of his sound and nailing down a distinct sonic identity.
As an emerging artist, if there is one thing you must get right out of the bat—it’s establishing a unique sonic profile on your debut project. EPs provide artists leeway to experiment a bit in the bid of finding those unique elements, whilst the ensuing debut album demands that you already have your sound figured out. On his debut EP, Taves plays it safe in one half and steps out of his comfort zone in the other half.
In the bid of playing it safe in the first half—he doesn’t establish a unique sound or elements thereof that is peculiar to him. To compound problems, he sounds too eerily similar to his label boss and apparent mentor, BNXN. There is nothing inherently wrong with a new act, seeking mentorship and idolizing their much experienced label boss who signed them. Asake for instance, has made it explicitly clear on numerous occasions that he adores Olamide and even draws stylistic inspirations from him. However, Asake is his own artist and one of the most unique and divergent acts we’ve ever witnessed.
Taves on the other hand doesn’t seem to know where to draw the line in taking pointers from a mentor, and using it to forge his own path. On one half of the EP, he’s manipulating his vocals like BNXN, replicating similar flow cadences that are synonymous with him and it doesn’t help that they’re both R&B artists. And because, BNXN is the more experienced act—Taves pales in comparison and sounds like a B-tec version of him.
EP opener Bad Romance is cut from that same sonic fabric of Afro-Swing/Garage music that’s an-all-too familiar terrain for BNXN. Even the way Taves opens the song with his adlibs is too derivative of his mentor’s. It’s a sad reality, because if you can past the fact that he’s sounding too much like BNXN—you’ll realize that this is actually a good, mellow bop.
On Folake though, he does manage to sound unique like his own person. Thanks to the production that straddles influences of disco and funk, and blends it with House elements. It sounds like a record The Weeknd could make and Taves does leaves his imprint on it with some flavour in the delivery that alludes to the fact that he’s African, although the bulk of his delivery is in pure English. This song shows that his vocals in their raw form sound nothing like BNXN’s much more high-pitched one.
Unfortunately though, on Enchanté—he goes back to doing his best BNXN impression. The song is swing/R&B like Bad Romance, but Semzi’s production here embraces a more resounding bass that works to a tee. The song has a simple narrative where he’s simply professing to his lover that he would follow her to the ends of the earth, so the sentiment here doesn’t help the song in standing out there.
On A Million Things it’s more of the same problem. The lively guitar riffs deplored here by P.prime and Anoop does help in creating a different type of ambience, but Taves doesn’t help himself again with his choice of flow cadences and vocal manipulation that doesn’t have to sound like this. It’s very clear he has a different vocal texture, because we’ve heard it on Folake and Eleyele. But for some absurd reason, he insists on sounding like this.
To his credit, on the song, CWT featuring BNXN—he recognizes the need to sound distinct and reverts back to his original vocal texture. The writing on this project overall also isn’t bad, but it isn’t great either, especially when you put into context that it’s an R&B project, and the genre relies on emotive, compelling writing to convey deep emotions that vocals won’t suffice to do. The writing on this song though is more improved, although it shifts away from the emotional sentiments that epitomize R&B.
Economy is probably the best song on this EP, for the sole purpose that on the song—Taves is relentlessly his own person and is very dynamic in a way that we’ve not heard him on previous records. On an Afro-pop bounce, he implores the sort of flows you’ll hear on a Tungba/Juju record and the percussion utilized by P.prime and Big Fish are very cultural in their sound.
This good form continues into In The City, a great mid-tempo pop song suffused with a permeating bass guitar, layered over plucked guitar strings. It’s great stuff from TSB and he ensures, the beat is constantly changing to ensure there isn’t a monotonous moment on the track.
When the curtains close on Apology, it’s a vulnerable, stripped back song with production that mirrors this sentiment with a minimalistic approach. The writing here finally attains the level of resonance great R&B records do and there are also some soulful background vocals integrated into the song to ramp up its sombre effect. It’s a really good song and this writer’s favorite on the project. The EP might not have started on a high note but it sure does end on a high one.
Taves’ Are You Listening? had the potential of greatness and hitting the heights that stellar Afro-R&B EPs have done this year, like Kemuel’s Clouds or Funbi’s Love Lust, but because for the most of it—he sounds too much like BNXN, it’s hard to get past that obstacle. But on songs like Folake, Economy, In The City and Apology, he really comes alive and makes it pixel clear that he is a solid talent in his own right that should be taken seriously. However, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done here before he can fully come into his own as an artist.
Final Verdict:
Sonic Cohesion & Unharried Transitions: 1.6/2
Expansive Production: 1.6/2
Songwriting: 1.2/2
Delivery: 1.0/2
Topical Progression/Track Sequencing: 1.4/2
Total: 6.8/10
