When It’s All Said And Done Take Time — GIVĒON | Album Review
An amazing project from one of the most unique voices around
Earlier this year, singer GIVĒON performed on NPR’s Tiny Desk platform. The dark, sombre aesthetic he preferred instantly grabs your attention, pulling you in as if into a void of some sort.
This feeling only gets stronger as he flows through his set, laying down a performance so assured it is hard to believe he is yet to embark on a tour of his own. It feels like you are experiencing something special; he feels so too. “This moment means a lot to me so bear me while I enjoy it, soak in it,” he says, in between songs.
This personal confession is just what it says it is, personal. However, you find yourself nodding in agreement, his words ring true. All you want to do is experience this deeply as well, and as the next song starts you are once again swept away, his music the perfect vehicle for this profound journey.
“WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE TAKE TIME” is an embodiment of the mantra of being constantly present. Each song is a call to experience a different sensation, deeply and fully before moving seamlessly onto the next.
Along the storyline of the album, there are stops at the euphoria of romantic connection with another, the sadness of that relationship slipping away, the angst and bitterness of loss, and the complex struggles of attempting to move on; but failing. The delicate nature with which GIVĒON takes on each of these themes and more is quite impressive. Even more impressive when you consider that this project is the combination of two separate EP’s released a year earlier.
The Long Beach native first came into the public consciousness on “Chicago Freestyle” a song from Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Providing the sober chorus to Drake’s more upbeat verses GIVĒON proved to be a more than able companion on the song. However, he knew that he needed to show something else, the other aspects of the sound he believed he was capable of. And so, the eventual Grammy nominee Take Time was released into the world. Exploring “a situation that started and went bad” Take Time seemed to provide the whole story, from giddy excitement to strained relations and then heartbreak and in some ways it is a complete story, but not when GIVĒON’s telling it. When It’s All Said And Done was proof of that.
Not just leaving his audience to mourn for the sad events of Take Time, he peels back the curtain to reveal the inner wrangling that often occurs after experiences like the one he shared on Take Time. This full-circle journey is quite an admirable effort of narrative construction but even that is ever so slightly overshadowed by supreme vocal performances throughout all 36 minutes and 50 seconds of the project.
“WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE TAKE TIME” opens with an ode of sorts to GIVĒON’s home city of Long Beach, a place he loves. However, the voicemail from his mother that appears a few times through the song shows that it is not the most straightforward of cities as she enquires about his safety, asking him to “let me know you’re safe and be safe”. This is intertwined with praise for his love interest, for braving the apparent dangers to be with someone like him, “Baby, you said you ain’t scared / Oh, girl, I love how you care”. A fitting opener to the project, it contains a prominent bass guitar lick that is significant as it represents, a regular feature on the album. It does well to be subtle enough at times and varied at others so as not to become overbearing and repetitive.
“Take Time Interlude” is the third song on the album and it presents an early opportunity to really focus on the beautifully unique voice GIVĒON possesses. A stripped-back sub-one minute track, it leaves the singer to muse about the absence of his partner, when they may be reunited again and how he is in no way attempting to force that reunion. A picture of insecurity, GIVĒON’s smooth baritone sounds solemn and intense, expressing the thoughts that have plagued many minds. Strongly yearning for the company of that one person but unable or unwilling to admit that. Experiencing GIVĒON’s voice in that manner brings it into sharp focus and ensures that if you lost sight of its brilliance somewhere between “The Beach” and “World We Created” you are sure to keep it in mind for the rest of the tracks.
For GIVĒON accepting and embracing his voice in this way is the current status of what has been a tough journey. Before being introduced to Frank Sinatra sometime in his late teens he had decided he just could not sing. That was due to a maturation of his voice in early teenage life that had left him with a distinct baritone and an inability to sing Miguel covers like he had been doing previously.
It was only after discovering Frank Sinatra during a trip to the Grammy Museum that he began to appreciate his voice more, seeing a bit of himself in the late singer. “I have this voice that is an acquired taste, for most people the experience is, it’s interesting first and then they like it.”
In the midst of what is a collectively slick project, the album hits a couple of high notes, with “Heartbreak Anniversary” being a notable one. The collaboration with Snoh Aalegra on “Last Time” represents the only feature on the album and one that he was intent on nailing. “The lyrics sound like we’re together, and the lyrics are very intimate, so I wanted the song to be just as intimate and connected in the same way.” The results were quite amazing and the chemistry between GIVĒON and Aalegra added a layer of authenticity to the song, as if they were actually grappling with that exact situation.
Speaking to Complex, GIVĒON mentioned that in a way this album was his life’s work, a number of the songs had been in the pipeline for a long time and he was able to put all those elements together to create a beautiful project. In that case, it will be very interesting to see the direction in which he goes after this and how much more he sticks or twists when it to his sound and image.
In an interview late last year GIVĒON explained the significance of his name, which apparently was an attempt by his mother to imbue within him, a spirit of giving. When he continues to say that, “If that’s true then she was right because hopefully, I’m giving you guys something” I could only nod my head in agreement.
He has given us some very good things already and with luck, he continues to give on, long into the future.
