Morning After
Attempting to capture the Throwback R&B nature of dvsn’s (pronounced “division”) music, Apple Music characterizes their second album Morning After with the phrase: “The glistening, sensual, soul of Sept. 5th continues.” The duo — comprised of vocalist Daniel Daley and producer Nineteen85 — released their album Morning After in Oct. 2017, marking a year since these slow jams blessed our ears, igniting aural orgasms everywhere.
The album narrates a violent and turbulent love story — 13 songs of fighting, loving, and fixing. The story kicks off with “Run Away,” in which Daley serenades his lover while detailing how he isn’t good for her. Over an ominous but slow and romantic tune, the lyrics add an air of finality, signifying the end of a toxic relationship. In beginning the album this way, Daley throws listeners into the fire. The immediacy and intensity make you feel like you’re witnessing the events of the relationship unfold in front of you. “Nuh Time/Tek Time” takes on a different vibe, opening with Delilah, a British singer-songwriter. Her eerie vocals and flow into a smooth but beat-filled track describing a conflict between lovers. The same song shifts into a slower, more sexual tone halfway through, and the lyrics follow suit, signifying a transition in the man’s treatment of his lover and the changes he is willing to make. The song induces empathy for those who know how it feels to be neglected in a relationship and what it’s like to work to reach actual change. Not only do you witness the relationship, but you are able to relate to it. In the next song, Daley urges his lover to “Keep Calm,” reassuring her with his promises of an eternal love. The tone of the ballad is calm and unwavering. Slipping into a more sultry vibe, “Think About Me” is about Daley knowing (or assuming — let’s be real) that his past lover still thinks about him because no one else treats her like he did. The song is slow but has sharp cadences that punctuate the intensity of Daley’s voice, making it upbeat but intimate.
These descriptions sum up most of the album: Daley crooning over a slow track that is either sensual and slow or measured but upbeat but still intimate in nature. While he sings of both sex and love, he channels singers like Brian McKnight and Anthony Hamilton, that my parents and I love to listen to. Dvsn, as a team of only two, has taken what older singers have done — croon about love and its complications over a catchy track — and given it a fresh versatility: some songs could be played in intimate situations, some at parties as slow jams. Despite the album being a year old, I still get excited when I hear the intro to “P.O.V.,” “Can’t Wait,” or “Body Smile.” The album combines old themes of love, relationships, and their inevitable struggles and makes them sound novel. I can imagine myself in my fifties cleaning up on a Sunday morning and still blasting all of these tracks. Dvsn has crafted a timeless album whose production and instrumentals make it easy to get lost in the soundscape and whose lyrical sensuality and vulnerability will always be relevant.
