[“Touching God” by Daniel Caesar plays]
That was “Touching God”, the eighth track on Daniel Caesar’s new album Son of Spergy.
Daniel Caesar is a Canadian R&B artist known for his love songs and lengthy ballads, like the ones on his Grammy-nominated 2017 album Freudian. This year, Caesar has turned away from the best parts of his life and instead took a new focus — his turbulent relationship with his father.
[“Moon (feat. Bon Iver)” by Daniel Caesar plays]
That song, “Moon (feat. Bon Iver),” is just one of the tracks that references Caesar’s father Norwill Simmonds, a gospel singer from Jamaica. Even the album title, Son of Spergy, refers to Simmonds’ nickname. In an Instagram post announcing the album’s release, Caesar wrote “I am nothing. But in my flesh I am Spergy’s son, and in my spirit I am God’s.”
On his recent pop-up tour, the singer shared that he went through a period where he rejected Christianity and his father. Now, Son of Spergy serves as a map back to both of those connections. He makes the album’s gospel inspiration apparent from the beginning with the first track “Rain Down.”
[“Rain Down (feat. Sampha)” by Daniel Caesar plays]
Even though he made a greater focus on his religious and familial messages, Caesar didn’t completely stray from the romance genre.
[“Have A Baby (With Me)” by Daniel Caesar plays]
The album’s first single, “Have A Baby (With Me),” was released in July and was a first taste for fans eager to hear the rest of the album. Still, the track wasn’t a standout sound to Medill second year Gloria Ngwa.
[GLORIA NGWA] It sounds honestly kind of, um, very similar to other artists like Frank Ocean a little bit. Omar Apollo kind of.
While it was a familiar tune to Ngwa, Weinberg third year Abigail Anton found a new sound after listening to the album’s third track, “Call on Me.”
[ABIGAIL ANTON] It was pretty catchy. It sounded nice. I liked it a lot.
[OLIVIA PAYNE] And you hadn’t listened to him before?
[ABIGAIL ANTON] No, never.
Anton’s not alone in her appreciation for “Call on Me.” The song was the album’s second single and the only song with a music video. The track blends Caesar’s themes of complicated relationships and religious influence.
[“Call on Me” by Daniel Caesar plays]
Alongside “Call on Me,” track six on the album became one of the more popular releases. Titled “Who Knows,” the song trended for its wistful and sweet melody that tells the story of all the “what if’s” in a relationship.
[“Who Knows” by Daniel Caesar plays]
SESP third year Nahla Habona is a longtime fan of Caesar, and she likes to stick to what she knows.
[NAHLA HABONA] His old music and Freudian, the album, that’s my favorite. Like, I know most of the songs on Freudian. Then his new album…“Who Knows” is the only song I know on his new album.
For Habona, Ceasar has yet to top her old favorites.
[NAHLA HABONA] I think a lot of his music sounds similar, but I’m a big Daniel Caesar fan and I like this song. It’s not one of his best songs. It’s not one of his better songs, but it’s still a good song.
Bienen and Medill second year Sol Thomas is also a big fan of Caesar, and he believes the music of Son of Spergy may actually be some of Ceasar’s best work.
[SOL THOMAS] I like how all of his songs seem like they come from just a session of him playing guitar and how this ends up making a atmosphere quality to the music, and I just think that it’s really interesting how he plays with this style of R&B to create such a distinctive sound.
Son of Spergy is Caesar at his most vulnerable, and that message not only connected with fans, but also with his father, who is a feature on the album. Caesar ends the album the way he began it — with gospel.
[“Sins of the Father (feat. Bon Iver)” by Daniel Caesar plays]
For WNUR News, I’m Olivia Payne.
