Review: Overgrown x Joyce Wrice
Anticipation for Joyce Wrice debut album Overgrown has been quietly brewing since her arrival on the scene with 2016 EP Stay Around. Since then, we’ve seen her pop up on numerous features with musical counterparts (her angelic background vocals on Buddy’s Trouble on Central are something special) and got a glimpse of her growth as an artist with a slew of late-night singles released over the years. Hailing from Los Angeles, Wrice is a part of a new wave of artists leading the modern revival of R&B as they arise from the flourishing underground scene finally getting mainstream airplay. On their arrival is a departure from melodic R&B and a return to more traditional roots of contemporary R&B paired with today’s popular alternative sound. Joyce Wrice debut album is a reflection of this updated sound that is also clearly influenced by early 2000’s R&B. Paired with classic R&B cover art (Think The Heat, Aaliyah, Butterfly) in a stunning blue hue, Overgrown is a modern millennial album about love, in which Wrice is grown enough to know what she wants/needs out of love and relationships but is still entangled in indecision that love past the honeymoon phase brings. The album is cohesive, which can be attributed to stellar production by D’Mile, each track melts into the next with well place interludes to break-up the sounds and cycles of love.
Joyce opens the album with Chandler, an alluring track consisting of a timeless instrumental buildup (think Curtis Mayfield Give Me Your Love) before she slides on the track passionately directing us to discuss all the things women endure just to get some love. A perfect starter track that sets the tone for the album and the whirlwind of emotions to be covered in forthcoming songs. Wrice then sails into Falling In Love, where she and Lucky Daye harmonize the feels of cautious lovers who’ve been through heartbreak before. The mood then takes a turn and we’re fully in love with standout (and personal favorite) track On One, an upbeat hip-hop record with guitar riffs that feel like summer. Partnered with an infectious hook and knockout Freddie Gibbs verse, the track is pure R&B excellence continuing the tradition of early 2000’s rap and R&B duos (think Ashanti and Ja Rule, Bey and Jay, Amerie and LL Cool J...). Wrice follows up with Losing and You which allow her vocals to be showcased with honest lyrics acting as an elevation of what we’ve previously heard from Joyce on past projects. The album continues its underlining hip-hop spirit with Westsides Gunn’s Interlude, a raw and gritty recollection of love from the perspective of the Griselda rapper who Joyce recently lent her vocals to when featured on French Toast from his Pray for Paris album. Joyce hits a high point on Addicted which captures the essence of the album, that love is real and addicting -- the cause of indecision in an overgrown love. Another transition comes with Kaytra’s Interlude (produced by Kaytranada) and is the perfect set up as the love-struck tracks come to an end and we’re snapped back to reality with jazzy Must be Nice featuring Masego. The track is a perfect break-up song as two lovers yearn for freedom. Another transition is ushered in with Hot Minute Interlude featuring Devin Morrison and Mndgsn production that mirrors a Faith Evans interlude from the late 90’s/early 2000’s. The 2000’s vibe continues with ThinkM About You and early album single So So Sick which gives a fresh nod to Floetry’s Say Yes. Wrice and Umi team up to highlight their African American and Japanese roots on That’s on You [Japanese Remix], before the album closes with title track Overgrown. The song is an unexpected but beautiful introspective ballad highlighting the range of Joyce’s vocals (and serves as a reminder that she is more than background vocals) while underscoring the ultimate message of the album.
Good things come to those who wait and Overgrown is proof of it. Joyce Wrice secures here place as a budding R&B figure contributing as solid debut album that pulls heavily from 2000’s R&B but is still a modern and organic byproduct of the R&B she grew up on. Outside of sound, R&B that you can feel always hits difference, on Overgrown Joyce provides raw and vulnerable emotions that can be felt on each track. So, for those asking what happened to R&B, it never left, and it you thought it did it’s certainly back and in good hands.
Favorite Tracks:
Chandler
On One (feat. Freddie Gibbs)
Losing
Must Be Nice (feat. Masego)
Think About You
