PartyNextDoor 3(P3) is the second studio album from PartyNextDoor, coming in the midst of a string of collaborations and a rumored joint album with Jeremih. His previous self-titled albums PartyNextDoor 2 and PartyNextDoor had a really mysterious undertone so I would expect this to this to build on that.
This could be one of the most open and emotive projects from PND. In his Rolling Stones interview, PND highlights how both his relationship with Kehlani and the writing of Drake and Rihanna’s summer smash hit Work impacted on him. PND stated that Work was not written from the angle people expect “People think that’s a party song. It’s a breakup song. It’s blues. I went from braggadocious to blues”
The album opens up with the late night journey High Hopes. There is so much going, from chimes to what sounds like drops of water; it’s a late night cruise through Toronto. PND executes this style exceptionally on his projects, really bringing you into his space with atmospheric production.
The next two tracks Not Nice and Only You are two of the big standouts on the project. When listened to in sequence they feel like the day(Not Nice) and night(Only You). This is probably the first time I’ve really heard Party exploring his Jamaican roots in the PND album series. Only You has a more cultured feeling than the other dancehall influenced songs on the radio today.
At the halfway point of the project, I have the view that this is PND’s closest version of Confessions or 808 and Heartbreaks. Problems & Selfless is a primary example, one of the darkest songs on the album. PND dives into some touchy areas, notably the apparent suicide attempt of Kehlani “You would kill yourself, O.D. and blame it on love”.
With the direction of the album, it is really fitting that Come And See Me (ft Drake) is the only feature. There’s has been way too many features from PND of recently which is diluting the flavor. The raft of PND clones is also a problem, but that’s another discussion is all together.
In conclusion, this is a good project but a very dark and emotive one so maybe not to everyone’s taste. PND is an extremely talented artist proven not only by his projects but his writing credits for others. There is no reason why he shouldn’t be on the same level as his fellow Canadians in terms of radio play (Drake, Tory, Weeknd, and Justin) but it just seems like he’s not there yet.
I feel the only way for PND to get that mainstream success is for him to leave OVO. Although, mainstream success isn’t what he wants so he has to be true to himself. It will be interesting to hear what his joint album with Jeremih will sound like.
It will be interesting to hear what his joint album with Jeremih will sounds like.
Top 3 tracks: High Hopes, Only You, Not Nice
7/10
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