Album Review: Mr by Leslie Odom, Jr.

Leslie Odom, Jr. is known for his role as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical ‘Hamilton’. I’m not that much into musicals and have never listened to any of Leslie Odom, Jr.’s original songs. But this made listening to ‘Mr’ even more exciting and fun since there were no expectations at all.

The album started with a very interesting song. The beginning of ‘Stronger Music’ reminded me of a mix of Christmas and slow dancing vibes. That vibe changed with the chorus where some beats were added. It makes the song sound more modern but I’m not sure whether to like the implementation or not. Two other tracks didn’t quite catch my attention. Or at least, I usually don’t like it that much in albums. ‘Eva’s Song (A Psalm of Life)’ with just talking and ‘Entr’Acte (The Joyful Messenger)’ as an instrumental track. The transition to the next track was flawless though. Personally, it kind of disrupts the flow when you’re listening to the album from the beginning to the end.

My favorite tracks are ‘Standards’, ‘Go Crazy’ and ‘Remember Black’.. I’m a big fan of build ups in songs and ‘Standards’ didn’t disappoint in that matter at all. ‘Go Crazy’ just makes you want to get up and move in any way. Dance it out! Especially because of the trumpets. ‘Remember Black’ is full of surprises. There are multiple melodical changes. It’s also the longest song in the album but all the melodically different parts go well with one another and melt into one song.

After half of the album it was a bit hard to focus on listening. Most songs didn’t quite catch my attention as a whole but little parts of them. Pretty much every song has something special in it. Something that gives it that little extra spark or sometimes it’s the only thing that catches your attention. For example the strings in ‘Lose It’ or the acapella part in ‘Freedom’. 

The whole vibe of the album is more chill with a few more upbeat tracks. I enjoyed listening to it but wasn't fully convinced except for a few songs. Leslie Odom, Jr.’s voice is amazing! Funnily enough, he reminds me a bit of Sam Smith and Declan J Donovan even though all three are completely different artists.

‘Standards’ and ‘Go Crazy’ will land on one or multiple playlists of mine for sure! Discovering new artists is always exciting and even more fun with some positive outcomes.