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[Video]
[4.67]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: Some of the most awful lyrics can be rendered beautiful by convincing singing, but Berwyn doesn’t do anything to make “we be old school like vinyl” feel like anything but lazy, trite writing. Maybe it’s the goopy, late-night sub-Drake sentimentality, or the uninspired addition of post-James Blake vocal effects, but this is male moping at its most predictable.
[3]
Thomas Inskeep: Oh, delightful: now we’re getting “indie” versions of Ed Sheeran. (And even though I grudgingly like “Afterglow,” Sheeran in general is still v v bad.) Yeah, there’s some Frank Ocean influence here too, but that doesn’t improve the song.
[2]
Jeffrey Brister: A little Frank Ocean, a little Drake, a little Weeknd. Berwyn showcases greater command and control of the aesthetic than other recent attempts at the style, and doesn’t try to contort it unnecessarily. That works to his benefit and detriment. Like, yeah, he’s not doing anything immediately unappealing or off-putting, but he’s also not doing anything transcendent or way above-average. The song itself lands on the side of good, though. The drums knock with a satisfying dryness against the plush and blurry synths, Berwyn’s performance suits the production so cleanly, the romance is so lovingly melancholic — it’s all undeniably enjoyable, and hopefully a hint of even better things down the line.
[6]
Vikram Joseph: Berwyn has an extremely soothing voice and, should the rap game turn sour, I can hear a future for him in audiobooks or nature documentaries. But let’s hope that’s some way off. “Vinyl” sees him deep in the throes of nostalgia, allowing us glimpses of a friendship or relationship which mostly remains just out of shot. “Sorry that I wasn’t there to clap at your graduation / And you wasn’t there to see as my life was changing,” is a lovely, wistful couplet, both specific and universal in one smooth stroke. In its nocturnal, smoky atmosphere it’s certainly reminiscent of “Marvin’s Room” and some of the more linear moments on Frank Ocean’s blonde (and the ascending vocal sample in the chorus is, weirdly, almost exactly the same as that in Amy Shark’s “Adore”), but with enough personality to set Berwyn apart.
[7]
Alfred Soto: A mumbly, crackling performance meant, I guess, to duplicate the experience of listening to one’s favorite vinyl classic. Berwyn’s lamentations don’t hold my interest, though.
[3]
Rachel Saywitz: “Melancholy” is the first word that comes to mind for me when listening to “Vinyl,” and in learning the tragedy of Berwyn’s past might also lead to a mindset that his music will always be tinged with sadness and grief: Berwyn was separated from his parents at a young age after immigrating to London from Trinidad and Tobago, and was forced into homelessness for stretches of his life. Yet I find there’s a dulcet layer to “Vinyl,” a creeping acceptance of the way life pans out, whether for good or bad. Berwyn laments that he’s “not in control of where my mind goes” but in the same breath asserts that “the world is in my palms.” And when the song ends, the music video stays running for a few more seconds, showing the joyful interactions Berwyn has with his collaborators. Much of his life might be laced with melancholy, but Berwyn seems content to drift in its ebbs and flows, or as he says, “old school like vinyl.”
[7]
Austin Nguyen: Early-AM brokenhearted brooding — like “You Should Be Here” after a few apologetic drinks and hours spent walking desolate city streets (“Sorry that I wasn’t there to clap at your graduation,” in its staccato syncopation, feels so numbed from remorse before Berwyn turns around to walk out the door) — that I’d feel more open to if it didn’t make me question Sound Of…’s fixation on Jack Garratt and whether or not vinyls can even be considered old school nowadays.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: Berwyn is more interesting as a rapper than an ersatz Khalid. And the “old school like vinyl” simile, over a decade past the vinyl revival (records are outselling CDs now!), is by now so dated that it itself qualifies as “old school.”
[4]
John Seroff: Your search “James Blake-core” returned 129 results (0.37 seconds). Did you mean to search “too early to tell where this kid’s obvious talent will land him, but hopefully somewhere a bit less clichéd”?
[5]