Freudian Album Review

Rating: 9.2/10

Standout Tracks: Best Part (feat. H.E.R), Hold Me Down & We Find Love

The rise of popularity of Daniel Caesar is incredible and it is all thanks to this exact album, Freudian. The Canadian singer-songwriter began his journey in the music industry in 2014 in his home country, Canada. Collaborations were key to his success. In the beginning of his career, he collaborated with renowned artist BadBadNotGood. It started gaining popularity which led to even more collaborations with well known artists. In the album, artists such as Kali Uchis, H.E.R, Syd and Charlotte Day Wilson are featured. It led Caesar to many Grammy nominations and a path he did not see coming; the path to popularity.

Freudian was Caesar’s debut album, the album that basically started it all. Despite releasing a single called Get You, this was Caesar’s first ever full album. With a duration of 44 minutes and 51 seconds, it consists of sweet, loving yet meaningful songs that the average listener will fall in love with. The album falls under the modern soul/R&B genre as people in 2017 began to discover the genre. Freudian has gained so much attention that three of his most popular songs are from that album. What is his most popular track you might say? It is Get You (feat Kali Uchis) with a whopping 1.7 billion streams. Yes, a BILLION. If it was not for this album, my ears would not have been blessed with this man.

Beginning with the most popular track, Best Part (feat. H.E.R), it discusses how one person can change the way you are as a person in terms of romance and discusses all the positives of a loving partner; probably is the reason why this is the most streamed track in Caesar’s discography. It shares how it is the best part of someone’s life that they will ever experience and showcases the beautiful aura of a partner. Halfway through the song Caesar states this specific lyric: “You're my water when I'm stuck in the desert, You're the Tylenol I take when my head hurts, You're the sunshine on my life”. It discusses how one partner could be a person’s everything; acknowledging that a lover can make you feel this certain way.

However, in the track Hold Me Down, it contradicts the meaning of love and that not every relationship is all perfect and loving. This track discusses how Caesar’s partner completely pushes Caesar to which leads to the one of many struggles of a relationship. This track makes the average reader think about the complications and the reality of a relationship while listening to the soft yet harmonizing tone of Caesar. It captures the true meaning of being loved by someone while facing uncertainty of the health of the relationship as this is what most relationships may go. In the track, Caesar states: “Who can I blame, I played the game? Well just for now, I was wondering, can you hold me down? I was wondering, can you hold me down?” This showcases how difficult it may be when it comes to making one's relationship grounded; hence the title.

Despite all the challenges faced in Caesar’s love life, it comes to a great comeback, reflecting his past and how it is possible to come back as a better person than before. In the track “We Find Love”, Caesar highlights his downfall in love but is able to come back up; imagine it as a big roller coaster. In the track, Caesar states: “We find love, we get up, Then we fall down, we give up, We find love, we get up, Then we fall down, we give up”. This exact lyric captures the meaning of falling in and out of love changes how a person can view love; either getting up and pursuing the relationship or giving up on it. 

This album covers so much about the topic of love and I could only cover so little, but it is truly, in my opinion, a great album for love in general. Whether you truly desire it or you are heavily reflecting your past, Freudian can help you guide your way through your desires and experiences. If it was not for Caesar and the album, he would not have been the great artist that he is today.