Soul Review: Dwele, "Subject"

A CanineMind Exclusive
On Subject, the major label debut from Detroit soul crooner Dwele, the beautiful and the bland collide. There’s much in a name, with “subject” suggesting both something abstract (the concept of a song) and something unfinished (is there a master sitting in a studio somewhere with a post-it stuck on it saying 'real title here'?). Ultimately, for better and for worse, Dwele has created not a soul album, but an idea of a soul album.

To place Dwele in the “neo-soul” category that includes D’Angelo and Bilal (amongst others) would be misleading. He is not a singerly singer – where D’Angelo and Bilal rely on their great ranges, falsetto flourishes, and some technological enhancements (see D’Angelo’s stacked vocals that explode on Raphael Saadiq’s “You Should Be Here” or his own “Put it on the Line”) to draw attention to their singing, Dwele’s approach is much more subdued. Throughout much of Subject, he seems not to be singing, but to be speaking or humming as he develops the melodies and lyrics for the songs. On cuts like “Truth” and “Sho Ya Right,” Dwele’s breathy and clipped delivery seems to be covering for a lack of range… and for questionable songwriting. It’s hard not to smirk at the intro to “Without You,” where we hear Dwele rifling furiously through his notebook looking for the opening lines of the song: “Palm trees / Green leaves / Colors in the fall…” “Without You,” however, provides a perfect example of the weird polarities of Subject. While the lyrics are, at face value, simple, the listener gets a stream of disjointed phrases, random ideas that evoke powerful images.

“Without You,” provides one of the rare instances of a heavier, faster song that Dwele pulls off. Although his voice is too flat and weak for most of the up-tempo productions on the album, it’s perfect for the slow, slight, and suggestive. On tracks like “Kick out of You” (which features a stripped-down, light drumming), “Lady at Mahogany” (where he tells the story of an uncomfortable encounter between the ex-girl and the next girl with a humorous twist: “Why is it that my ex-girl is all up in my grill? / Must be that new Colgate / No wait”), and “Subject,” Dwele uses his voice conversationally. As the production fades in and out, he seems to be carefully creating the track note by note, adding a single word or a slight inflection to complete it. Sometimes, as these closing tracks suggest, less is more – and if you’re still unconvinced, check out the “Whoomp” interlude, as Dwele glides over a throbbing drum and a shifting bed of guitar and keys, laid down as sparingly and suggestively as his voice. For all its shortcomings, Subject delivers a few gems and hints at real potential for growth. Behind Dwele’s light voice are some heavy ideas, with a need for just a little touching up.