Charlie Puth was obviously under a lot of pressure to make this record as good as his previous release “Nine Track Mind”, which was released in 2016. Featuring iconic songs that stormed the charts such as “See You Again” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore”, it was a big ask for the 26 year-old singer-songwriter to create something that matched the overall success and energy put forward by Nine Track Mind.
Charlie Puth is known for creating all of his own material and beats with his home and on the road studio made up of a MIDI keyboard allowing him to recreate any instrumental or synth sound, and a microphone for vocals. He has a unique and creative way of formulating his songs, as he has previously mentioned he records all ideas for songs and lyrics on the voice recorder on his phone, hence the album title “Voicenotes”.

After my initial listen to this album, I am overly happy that Puth has maintained the chill R&B sound he is known for and highly talented at. With formally released singles such as “Attention” and “How Long” being featured tracks, myself, and Puth’s fans were hoping for an album filled with songs that followed a similar theme, and this is definitely what we have been given. The tracks on the album vary between upbeat, funky dance tunes, to slow, ballad-like singles, both of which Puth seems to have gained a fair amount of familiarity with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the major standouts in this album, is Puth’s soothing and harmonic vocals within his slower paced songs such as “Patient” and song with band Boyz II Men, “If You Leave Me Now”. Puth has one of those distinct voices that is instantly recognisable once played, so it was refreshing to hear it being utilised well in a wide range of styles. Whilst his voice is angelic throughout his ballads, he also seems to sing comfortably in his higher tempo tracks.

Even though this album from the outside may seem unique and distinct, I couldn’t help but pick out similarities from Puth’s debut album in terms of the ballads. Whether it’s because Puth has found himself following a flow and rhythm he is content with, or it’s just not his strong point is unknown, however being a firm fan of Nine Track Mind, I did feel like many of the ballads could have been placed within NTM, or vice versa, and they wouldn’t have felt out of place.

Overall, standout songs to me included “How Long”, “Slow It Down”, and my favourite of the whole album, “Somebody Told Me”. There is something about the rhythm and beat of Puth’s faster songs that feel infectious and could instantly life the mood of anybody.

















With the charts in the last year or so being filled with songs that seem to follow scarily similar, manufactured, step-by-step layouts and routine, it is great to hear that Puth is bringing fresh, yet wonderfully nostalgic tunes into the mainstream music industry once again.