On Friday, February 13th, notoriously a day of doom and despair, Brent Faiyaz decided to bless our ears with his long awaited third studio album, “Icon,” including nine tracks of pure emotional romantic bliss. Completing the trilogy with his two previous albums, “Wasteland” and “Larger than Life,” “Icon” is his ‘lover boy’ album, focusing on love over lust and bringing in whimsical themes of romance. Faiyaz demonstrated his inspiration from Michael Jackson and ‘80’s inspired music, showcasing the range of his singing abilities by shifting to an early 2000’s and late ‘90’s dreamy music style, including overlapping background vocals and subtle electronic piano sounds. Both critics and I were pleased by his shift from trap music to slower R&B.
“Icon” included generic love song tropes such as “she fell down from heaven” being repeated in the song “butterflies.,” which is his number one most popular song right now on Apple Music. Shifting from the slow flowing song “butterflies.,” the song “otherside.” was lively, feel-good and upbeat, perfectly depicting someone in love. I could imagine someone strolling down the street hopping up and down to the beat just feeling the adoration radiating through their headphones from Faiyaz’s smooth voice.
The opening song “white noise.” is quite literally white noise, symbolically conveying this shift into a love era for him. It is that one time period in someone’s life after toxicity, and rust from the game of club hopping and heart breaking has built up. You don’t know what to do at that point in life, so you just sit in silence, or listen to white noise to pass the time better. “wrong faces.” expresses the initial chase of a relationship. Even if someone is already in a relationship they are reminded everyday just how much they love that other person and they are all they need. By looking in the wrong places for love and the wrong faces it indicates that he has found something worth keeping and he treasures that everyday, with that upbeat, still slow R&B tone staying consistent in the album. This song gives an amazing feel of clarity and peace, serving as a calm before the storm.
Percussion and bass are a theme in this album, along with a faint keyboard. “have to.” gives that initial high someone has in a relationship, wanting to constantly give their all to another person and not wanting to let this go. The collaboration with Tommy Richman added a mix of Faiyaz’s deep voice and Richman’s more pitched voice, in a way demonstrating both the girl and the guy’s perspective on the relationship at hand. It is a very catchy song and definitely stuck with me along with “butterflies.” because of their similar varied tempos and tones within the songs.
As mentioned, the trilogy of the three studio albums Faiyaz has put out each follow the bigger theme in his music. “Wasteland” was Faiyaz’s toxic era of music, constantly going out and in from a tub of his own despair.. It shows what life is like when one’s ego is prioritized and emotional detachment is encouraged, even shown by the formatting difference of the letters in his songs shift from all caps to all lowercase and periods, symbolizing a significant change that isn’t going away anytime soon. “Larger than Life,” the second studio album transfers into a less heartless but morally centered Brent and this idea of working on himself and building himself up after the period of toxicity and emotional strain. Now, his third studio album may complete this lover journey, perfectly capturing the dodgy sea of relationships and not being afraid to love too hard, if that means giving your all and more.
The song “strangers.” perfectly shows how easy it is to go from passionately in love and in ecstasy to pure confusion and sorrow. Repeating the lines “is there something I did” conveys a universal feeling we know all too well: the feeling of not getting full closure, reminiscing on what we could have been, not what we should have been. At the end of the song there is a robotic monologue almost listing daily affirmations, starting off by saying “note to self” then going on to list habits that seem like protecting one’s self from opening up again, like learning from their mistakes. But then the next song goes straight into talking about how he would do anything for his lover, titled “world is yours..” It still gives off those whimsical, unreal vocals and vibes Faiyaz is so good at injecting into his songs, and it also flows with the use of those nostalgic 90’s background vocals and soft techno beats but still mixing with a modern day R&B vibe.
The album successfully exhibits the ups and downs of a passionate relationship. “four seasons.” exemplifies this concept, by shifting from a newly devoted “I will give my all to you” immediate rebound people might get after having an argument or significant disagreement with their partner to going back into the multiple mood swings a relationship endures. Yet, the song still goes with the album’s rediscovered ‘lover boy’ message, with love still enduring through the “four seasons” of winter (coldness) all the way to summer (fiery love). It all comes back to the core of the album’s concept: love persevering. “pure fantasy.” has that Frank Ocean-esque golden voice and faded overlapping background vocals, ensuring that the feeling of love is like a big hug from your headphones through to yourself, as you feel the love that Faiyaz is describing. It also features an audience which I like because it feels more real. Even if it is maybe just a prerecorded fake applause, it feels like a pop star singer dedicating a song into a crowd of millions, even while everyone thinks and feels like the song is directly for them and them only.
To tie the bow on the album, and his relationship, the final song, “vanilla sky.” sounds exactly like what is being portrayed in the song. A blessing of Faiyaz’s creamy vocals grazing the ear concludes the thoughts and emotions of the album. Moving from the deep rapid passionate nature of pure happiness to a mellow feeling of contentment and into a state of acceptance. The best way to put this feeling expressed in the song is when you see your partner be vulnerable and cry for the first time in front of you.
This album exemplifies Brent Faiyaz and not wanting to necessarily be labeled an “Icon” in his romantic world but to be understood taking the ego, image, and toxicity away.
