Welcome to John Cardigan's Study

The tracks are laid out in a way that helps keep them separated in their influences of other genres branching out from the main country roots the album is built around. The roots grow out into a tree that is full of surprises.

“Carolina Honey” comes out of left field with soulful singing out of King. With chanting backup singers being put into the mix. On a first listen, I was expecting it to be simply a country album with all the keynotes associated with it. However, things switch on a dime. With “No Room For Blue” or in “Levi’s & Goodbyes” the vibe is geared towards southern rock. Furthermore, “Die Alone” is set up as a blues song. It is hard to fixate on what style it can be called for this album as a whole. It doesn’t take away from the listening experience unless the listener has specific tastes.

King can do quite a bit with his vocal talents. On the other hand, “Here Today” contains nearly too many voices chiming in. For the most part it is King, but I feel like the likes of Jamey Johnson or Kaitlin Butts could have been put on separate songs to utilize their unique voices better. “Somebody Else” is a good example of how to handle the aforementioned tidbit whereas it switches back and forth between King and Jesse Welles singing the lyrics. The song doesn’t overdue its stay and is a great addition.

The instruments themselves sing, especially the fiddle. Each instrument adds their own special sauce to the songs adding up to what they are. The steadfast drumbeat is the glue holding the lyrics in place. The guitar whether it is electric or acoustic serenades majestically.

“Carry Me Home” is a very poignant end to the album. It is a farewell and sendoff talking about after King’s death through the lyrics; “Bury me beneath her trees / … carry me home, Carolina.” King is from South Carolina originally.

The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean is sultry and smooth. Right off the bat, the intro draws you in and keeps you listening. Tempo changes ever so often, but there is symmetry between the tracks. From start to finish there is no filler.

In its essence it is a neo soul album. Neo soul stems from soul and R&B with aspects of jazz. Essentially meaning the album is an easy listening experience with no standoffish songs in addition to having acoustic instruments adding to the track. It gives the spotlight to the vocals with the drums, guitar and various other instruments accompanying it as a cherry on top. The rhythm is contagious swaying to and fro.

As the name of the album suggests each of the songs are about or relating to love. Different perspectives and moments in time. Whether that is being in the relationship, looking for a significant other, learning to live solo or something in between (as shown in "Something Inbetween”). There is a hint of melancholy or longing with the songs especially with “(So Easy (To Fall In Love)” or “Let Alone The One You Love.” The instruments themselves range from mellow to upbeat.

Listening to her singing can be described as a mix between the substance and smoothness of Clairo’s voice and the depth and reach of Adele. Both Clairo and Dean give off an Indie feel that’s down to earth with their subjects being covered. As for the connection with Adele, the continued use of voice with fluctuations makes each group of lyrics sound different and novel as best shown in “Loud.”

It’s the type of album that would pair well with a nice latte at a great coffee spot. Needless to say, it can still be a great listening experience under most conditions and environments.

There wasn’t a single track that felt like it didn’t belong. Each has their spot and add up together for a great selection. It is only her second album to be released and there is always room to improve, yet this album does great at achieving what it sets out to do. It is a collection of songs speaking on what love is in all aspects, connecting with the listener’s experiences in the process. It is hard not to love this album about love.

The first track starts off strong with enchanting vocals. As far as lyrics go it is more often not what you sing, rather how you sing it. Mixed in are some extra sound effects that don’t all together take away from the experience, but don’t make it immediately catchy. It adds to the experimentalism the rest of the track list brings. It is a good opener that encapsulates the rest of the songs that follow in the album Baby by Dijon.

Whereas Leon Bridges sings full on soul Dijon is soul with more of a pop angle. In a music scene that derives itself more towards the pop music genre that can be an important distinction. However, within the first moments of the opening track it is apparent the vibe is not fully geared towards solely pop.

Frank Ocean is a very apt example of another artist that has made songs similar to the ones in this album. Both artists incorporate dreamy vocals that are a melody in themselves. Bringing into the forefront their singing. That is not to say the beat and the background instrumentals are not good, they just aren’t the first thing being noticed.

While a few of the song titles end with an exclamation mark they don’t clamour for attention. They are just as low key. Apart from snippets of almost jarring sound effects deriving themselves from the theme some of the tracks have. Being the noise of voices that rise up in a yell in “FIRE!” or the baby cooing in “Baby!.”

The song “Yamaha” switches things up grooving and chanting its way towards a more mellow side. Being a favorite from the album as a whole, it is more smooth and chill. The two ways an album can go is sticking to one mood or mixing things up. The latter is the case. Cohesion is still important and it is not put to the wayside.

It’s the type of release you wouldn’t expect to see as an immediate hit on billboard charts, but that shouldn’t take away from the substance in this release. A good sample of whether the album is for someone or not is the very first song which the album is named after, “Baby!.” Being only the second album released by Dijon there is much promise to what more could be experienced from additional releases in the future. This album may be going for a niche, yet it does so not at its own expense.