My Thoughts on Freudian by Daniel Caesar

Some notes: 

1. Thank you Sarah Matus for recommending this album to me 
2. I am just a casual listener of Daniel Caesar, and I have no experience with music production/songwriting

 

Get You (feat. Kali Uchis) 

First off, I love the instrumental of the intro to this song, and I like how it fades into the beat and Daniel Caesar’s voice in a sharp way. I know this is one of his most popular songs from this album. I’ve heard it many many times but I still think it’s a great song to listen to. I like how rhythmically simple the song is, especially during the chorus, where it’s just Daniel Caesar singing, “Ooh, who would have thought I’d get you”. I also think Daniel Caesar’s voice and Kali Uchis’ voice compliment each other very well. They are both dream-like and soulful, and it gives the song a lot of depth. 

 

Best Part (feat. H.E.R.) 

I loved the acoustic guitar in the instrumental. I think acoustic guitar always sounds so comfortable and home-like. I think H.E.R.’s voice was so beautiful in this song, and I like how gentle it was during the chorus. I think it emphasized the romanticism in the lyrics. Speaking of the lyrics, I like how straightforward and simple they are. For example, relating the subject of the song to simple objects like coffee or sunshine make it easy for the listener to understand how much the artists rely on/appreciate the subject. Additionally, at the end of the song, I love the harmony and the repetition of “If you love me won’t you say something”. I think it’s almost like a call to action, as if the artists are expecting a reply from the subject of the song to their declaration of love. 

 

Hold Me Down 

Personally, I really liked the beginning of the song. I love it when artists use excerpts of voice recordings in music, and I felt that it gave the song a very personal touch to it. I like the instrumental, and I like how around the one minute mark of the song, there is what sounds like a chorus of singers that sing certain notes, and I felt that gave the song depth. Around the 2 minute and 30 second mark, I really like how the melody of the song changed completely. Turns out after doing some research, this outro part of the song echoes Kirk Franklin’s “Hold Me Now” and its lyrics in melody, which explains the change in the song. 

 

Neu Roses (Transgressor’s Song) 

I will never ever ever get over this song. This song has been one of my favorite songs this year. It’s one of my passing hallway songs and it’s also one of my study songs. I think the first half of the song, of just the singer singing with an acapella harmony in the background, was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life. This half of the song sounds so angelic and majestic, while also sounding like a sad plea. Whenever I listen to this song, I can feel my mind detach itself from my body and it feels like I’m floating in space. The transition to the second half of the song was done wonderfully. I think it introduced the beat and instrumental of the song very well. I think Daniel Caesar did a great job with maintaining melodic consistency. I also really love the audio samples mixed with the instrumental in the end, which I felt added on to the majestic and angelic feeling of this song. 

Loose 

This song made me feel comforted. The long-held notes in the back gave the song a very slow and dream-like sound. At the 1 minute and 40 second mark, I really liked how the instrumental focused more on the notes of a piano, and at the 1 minute and 50 second mark, I really like how Daniel Caesar’s voice gets weaker and quieter. It sounds like he’s singing hesitantly. I really also like the phone ringing and audio recording of the girl and I really enjoyed listening to Daniel and the audio actually communicating with each other. It was like listening to a movie scene. I think the most prominent part of this song is how as it goes on, the more dysfunctional it seemed. 

 

We Find Love 

I really liked the piano instrumental for this song. I think the piano and the chorus humming in the background made the song feel more upbeat compared to the rest of the songs on this album. The lyrics for this song were very romantic to the point where they sounded like a love poem. I really enjoyed the chorus singing “We find love” repeatedly around the 2 minute and 50 second mark and around the 3 minute 5 second mark. I think through this song, you can hear the gospel influences on Daniel Caesar’s music. 

 

Blessed 

I loved how raw and emotional this song was. In the first third, it was just a piano instrumental and Daniel’s voice, which gave the song a sense of simplicity which highlighted the message of love, desire, and need that Daniel was singing about. I loved the voices in the background in the middle of the song, and I like how they appeared again around the 3 minute mark where he constantly repeats “I’m coming back home to you” which makes the message sound more intense. 

 

Take Me Away (feat. Syd) 

This instrumental was one of my favorites in the album. I liked how elements of the intro instrumental was a consistent aspect of the song. I think this song would be a nice song to fall asleep to because of the dream-like vibe of the instrumental. This song kind of feels like a fever dream. I also like the small vocalizations around the 2 minute and 30 second mark. Syd’s voice was also so enchanting to listen to. Her voice sounded so light and fleeting yet raw, and I think it added to the beautiful ending to the song. 

 

Transform (feat. Charlotte Day Wilson) 

First, I liked how Daniel Caesar used leopards and tigers to relate back to his own issues and the title of the song. I think it helped with imagery and it helped me understand what he was trying to say. I liked how the vibe and rhythm of the song changed around the 1 minute and 15 second mark. Even though the song became more upbeat, the two parts of the song feel connected because of the melodic continuity and extension. Around the ending, I liked how his voice gets a bit distorted and how it’s the only thing you can hear for a bit. It made the song overall feel more polarizing. 

 

Freudian 

In the first half of the song, I loved the cadence. I thought it served as a wonderful contrast to the slow yet jazzy feeling of Daniel Caesar’s voice and the instrumental. The vocalizations starting around the 1 minute and 40 second mark were also incredibly beautiful. The vocals starting around the 3 minute and 10 second mark were so nice to listen to. I think the vocal range of the singer was amazing and I found it impressive that the singer could sing both really deep and higher notes right after one another, and it gave this portion of the song a demanding feel. I find it interesting that there’s around a minute of just silence, and it made me reflect on what the song and album as a whole. I think putting Freudian last and as the name of the album gave a huge impact on the album as a whole, as the outro (Daniel singing with what sounds like an organ playing in the background) felt like a sad farewell speech.

 

Overall, this album is so beautiful. Hands down one of my favorite albums I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. I personally will never get over how majestic Neu Roses is. Daniel Caesar’s voice is also so soulful and deep. I could listen to him talk about the process of growing corn and I wouldn’t complain.