From the title of the EP, 4PLAYT3OIS, one might go in expecting some Prince-style genre bending. But instead of the Purple One’s full band and virtuoso guitar, the three-song collection is comprised of what sounds to be samples, including quite a bit of saxophone on “Silhouettes.” It’s enjoyable enough as far as generic modern R&B goes, but there’s not a lot of nuance from tune to tune, and the songs are full of clichés that would make even a Nashville songwriter roll their eyes.
All that being said, Crawford is a very good singer who might benefit from stretching his musical muscles by incorporating a live band, or perhaps even some outside songwriters. The prospects for Happyish aren’t looking very good at this point—maybe Andre Royo is available?
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