#2364 Anderson .Paak - Malibu

After multiple breathless recommendations, I found my first listen to this one so _underwhelming_

And I get it a bit better now - it's got a smoothness, a lazy bit of bounce, with just the tinniest spike of that dark-jazz vibe that's been bubbling up the last couple years.

But, nah.

The production's too produced, too smooth, somewhere between JT and Jamiroquai. And all the sounds repeat and repeat, little custom studio-polished session-musician loops, with none of the grit and history of a proper sample, none of the spark or sizzle of a proper live backing. And every song just blends together, same basic feel, same basic tempo, wildly overstuffed at 16 tracks.

And Paak himself doesn't save it - he's chained to his voice's raspy spine, with desperately little emotional or musical range, always sounding the same kind of ever-so-slightly pained.

There's no stakes, no commitment, just a easy groove to cruise to nowhere in.

We're ready for a funk revivial, but we can do better than this 3/5