Summer Camp by Anees | Album Review
Anees embraces his listeners with the innocent feeling of love on his debut album.
Anees took a leap of faith by leaving his career as a lawyer to pursue music. This change in scenery has given the independent artist a new outlet to process his battles with depression and anxiety. His debut single, “slip,” got him the attention of many including Justin Beiber with whom he’d perform the song live on Instagram Live. His success would continue as subsequent singles climbed the charts. Anees would officially debut his work with the release of Summer Camp.
Anees introduces the summery soft tone that flows throughout the project with “arrival day.” Its cheery combination of acoustic pop and hip-hop brings to mind the playful nature of Jason Mraz’s work. He uses the metaphor of the carefree nature of summer camp to display his exuberance over this new love, “Your love is amazing, you’re driving mе crazy/ I feel so safe with you, and that’s ’cause you feel like summer camp/ And your smile is inviting, and your vibe is exciting/ And your soul is igniting me, and that’s ’cause you feel like summer camp.” My biggest obstacle comes in the execution of the piece. It feels a bit generic.
My favorite aspect of “home again” is its rich acoustics. Using the soulful guitar as the main pivot point invokes the shimmer of sunshine off of a woodland lake. Anees’s words celebrate the sense of solace he gets from his friends, family, and spirituality, “I have found a home that knows no location/ So, wherever I go, I have family/ I won’t ask the world for its affirmation/ ’Cause Heaven is a place that exists in me/ So, I can live right here/ In my little cabin on this mountain, yeah/ All my friends, I know they love me, I’m surrounded, yeah/ They accept me as I am.” This gentle tone creates an inviting space for his listeners to leave behind their worries and feel at peace.
“wannabe” continues his curve into a soul. Anees mixes this with acoustic pop and softly rapped verses. His lyrics emanate the sweetness of youthful love. Personally, the hook, “I wanna be next to you/ And I wanna be where you are/ Wanna be, wanna be, wanna be, yeah/ Girl, you know that,” is a little too juvenile for me to connect with. I also wish Anees would explore other aspects of love aside from just the sprouts of newly planted seeds. I can see the appeal in the fusion of gentle pop/hip-hop tone, it just doesn’t go far enough for me to want to return to further listens.
I can hear why “sun and moon” has achieved the success it has. Anees’s gratified tone casts a glow through the honey-colored acoustic soul blustered by a buoyant hip-hop beat. The innocent sense of joy that this relationship gives him shines brightly in his words, “‘Cause you give me love and affection/ I give you all my protection/ I’m tryna stay by your side ’til the day I die/ And you give me all of your love/ And I give you all of my trust/ I know you’ll never betray me or leave my side, oh my.” This is one of my favorite looks at love that Anees tackles. His brand of comforting pop is at its best in this piece.
“alien” doesn’t stray from the acoustic pop flavors that have made up the first half of the record. The sentiments of being lost in the air of affection brought on by someone you’ve just fallen for have begun to feel a bit stale after several songs. There is also something about the lines, “There’s nobody like you, girl/ No love like this, you taste like bliss/ And when we kiss/ You take me straight to outer space/ I float through your neon clouds/ You’re an alien and baby, when we touch/ I leave the ground, yeah,” that feels a little odd. I feel like Anees could have captured the otherworldly aspects of his lover in a more concise way than what is currently presented.
“interlude prayer” is a very short intermission focusing more on the spiritual. Anees takes time to seek clarity from the divine as he moves forward, “Oh, Lord/ Give me your eyes to see the things that you see/ Help my ears to hear the things that you hear/ Bless my heart to feel and love what you love.” I wish there was more along the lines of this or other forms of appreciation on this album. It radiates the same energy that Anees cherishes. As it stands, it’s a bit too short to leave a lasting impact but is a nice change of pace.
I am happy to see Anees focus more on the rap-oriented parts of his music with “slip.” The lemony way he tackles each line pairs nicely with the cool pool of sunny guitars and horns. Again, he highlights the importance of the love he has found and how much he adores her, “I’m passionate about your happiness/ If I need to remind you/ The rationale for my madness/ I’m happy to tell you why cause/ I see what you do/ When you’re not thinking/ I’d be a damn fool/ If I let you slip.” Though the rhyming scheme is rather simplistic, his passionate tone does a great job selling the tenderness he feels for his lover.
“maui” has some of the best instrumentation on this project. We’re still firmly placed in a beachy summer setting, but the guitars and beat broaden the space from the close intimacy that his acoustic soul gave us up to this point. My complaint is the continued use of the themes of falling in love that don’t dive much deeper than the skin deep. Its beaming sound saves the song from being too similar to the rest.
Unfortunately, I feel that “sunny day” sounds far too similar to love drunk acoustics coating the opening of the album to stand out. Anees pours out the many ways his partner brings a sense of calm and joy to his life, “Yeah, you are a rainbow on a summer day/ A dose of you would take the clouds away…You’re my sugar plum, fairy girl, lovely little dream/ You’re a shooting star to the heart, perfect as can be/ You’re a pixie dust, sugar rush, magical and wild.” Because both the sound and sentiment have been repeated quite heavily (and a bit stronger on some earlier tracks), I personally felt a bit fatigued by this track.
I like the nocturnal earthy soul that “so long” brings to the end of the album. Anees releases the mire of anxiety and depression that haunted him for years to allow optimism into his life, “So long, so long, so long, yeah/ To all those toxic feelings/ For so long, I was down/ And I was searching for this healing/ Lift my knees off the ground/ Now I’m soaring through the clouds/ For so long, so long, so long.” This tranquil soundscape marries nicely with his sanguine point of view. I like this viewpoint and hope Anees explores these uplifting themes more in the future.
My biggest takeaway was Anees’s ability to raise up his audience through his music. Every song has the airy sweetness of cotton candy. This is also the album’s biggest downfall. Thematically, he hovers around the subject of falling in love without developing this material deeper than just the tip of the iceberg. Songs like “so long” and “interlude prayer” show that Anees can write about gratitude more universally. As it stands, the continued cycling of this topic became rather tiring. It’s a nice introduction to who Anees is and his comforting sound. I hope he proceeds to grow these concepts more in future works.
My overall thoughts on Summer Camp:
Disliked it: “arrival day”, “wannabe”, “alien” & “sunny day”
My overall rating: 4.5 out of 10.
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