Love Sick (Deluxe) by Don Toliver | Album Review

An overdue look at the Houston MC’s disappointing third studio album.

Listen to Love Sick (Deluxe): Apple Music | Spotify

Don Toliver’s Love Sick dropped earlier this year back in February and admittedly was an album that went under the radar for me. Perhaps due to the general reception of the album but I never gave it the time of day until very recently. As an artist, there’s been a common critique of Don’s music: He does well when it comes to guest features, but his solo music is severely lacking. His first two solo albums under Cactus Jack (Heaven or Hell and Life of a Don) were underwhelming despite having a few notable albeit decent cuts.

In the lead-up to Love Sick, I had some hopes that maybe Don will finally nail it this time around. With a concept centered on romance, as well as a short film inspired by the album that dropped on Prime Video. There were some inklings that maybe Don might come up with something to beat the “mid” allegations. Sadly that’s not the case here. Love Sick is yet another reminder that Don, despite all the star power and production in the world, still can’t hold enough attention on his solo efforts. Unfortunately Love Sick might be one of Don’s worst and most forgettable projects in his discography.

Don’s knack for woozy, psychedelic trap has been his mainstay since we were first introduced to him back in 2018. His sound hasn’t really evolved past that and it really shows in the production of Love Sick. Be prepared to hear the same synthesizers and trap drums throughout the entire album, as it doesn't go any further beyond that. Saying every song sounds the same would be an understatement. Very rarely does Love Sick deviate from this norm. Save for a few exceptions such as the Afrobeat tinges of “Slow Motion” or the old-school soul throughout “If I Had”.

Don’s whole identity surrounding his production is what drove me to his music in the first place, and it feels offensive that the album’s sound is so contrived and uninspired here for the vast majority of Love Sick’s runtime. There’s hardly any substance, and none of the beats really hit. Thankfully Don’s vocals on here make up for it, but only slightly. His signature auto-tuned melodies and croons are in full swing, while I may not enjoy the production I’d be lying if I said Don didn’t sound good on most of the album.

The guest features are a bit more stacked this time around, more so than any other Don project. James Blake comes through with some ethereal vocals towards the end of “Let Her Go”, a nice change up from the song’s drab beats. Kali Uchis showcases her sultry self on “4 Me”, her voice being yet another instrument to the song’s woozy production. There are also some surprise guests as well. Such as Justin Bieber on “Private Landing”, evoking his 2014 Bugatti Biebs persona in his verse. Teezo Touchdown’s performance on “Luckily I’m Having” harkens back to that 90’s swing of R&B, and shows just how versatile of an artist he can be. Labelmate Travis Scott also makes an appearance on “Embarrassed”, and hearing him and Don glide over the song’s hazy beat is certainly a highlight.

Lyrically though is where the album suffers immensely and unfortunately proves the point I made at the start of this review: Don still can’t hold enough attention on his solo efforts. Don’s vocal runs are solid, but he still hasn’t managed to say anything meaningful with that voice of his yet. It’s very evident that he’s using his production and vibe to carry his music. Don is an aesthetic rather than a feeling, style over substance. Depending on who you are that might be up your alley, for me though I’m not the biggest fan of this.

There’s no semblance to the concept Don was going for on Love Sick, if anything it’s barely noticeable. He says a whole lot of nothing on here and when you mix that with the album’s drab and uninspired sound, everything just meshes together into one drawn-out waste of time and potential. Even factoring in the bonus tracks on the deluxe it stretches out Love Sick even more than it needs to.

Overall while I’m not upset that I listened to Love Sick, I can’t help but feel that Don’s latest album was nothing more than just filler. Something to play when you have nothing to play. For the few strokes of genius and mere glimpses at something interesting, there are so many misses on here that the end result is an album that not many are going to remember. For my final rating, I’m giving Don Toliver’s Love Sick a 3/10. It’s disappointing that he couldn’t drop something to escape the mid-allegations that have plagued his solo releases. Here’s hoping that his next album will at least have something(s) worth noting.

Final Rating: 3/10

Favourite Tracks: Private Landing, Slow Motion, Luckily I’m Having.