Album Review: Jesse Boykins III, Love Apparatus

Jesse Boykins III

Love Apparatus (released April 22, 2014)

You can tell a lot about an album just from its cover.

I seriously doubt Jesse Boykins was going for the Mortal Kombat Goro look here. Instead, his cover seems to fall in line with the multi-armed deities of Hindu faith. Usually, those arms signify a different power or characteristic of that being.

Thanks to the helpful floating visuals, we can surmise that Boykins’s long-anticipated album, Love Apparatus, is here to balance love and humanity over the realm of music.

Impressed? See, I know more than Biggie Small lyrics and flavors of Sour Patch Kids.

Boykins’ album is a bit of an enigma, but that’s what makes it so fun. On the opener “GreyScale,” Boykins’ voice bleeds right into the spacey production.  He basically spells it out for listeners on “Create Beauty” – the beauty of Boykins’ music is the atmosphere he sets.

It’s not all space jams here, though. Boykins yearns over his lover backed by his trusty guitar on “I Wish,” a magnificent vocal showcase. He’s not afraid to up the tempo, either. “B4 The Night Is Thru” has been floating around the ‘Net for YEARS now and makes another appearance here. That’s OK, though – the hypnotic, thumping track is the closest Boykins gets to a club banger and it’s a great way to break up the monotony.

The themes here range from devotion to turmoil. “The Wonder Years” is an breezy look at the naivete of a blossoming relationship while “Plain” wrestles with insecurity. I guess that’s part of the multi-armed balancing act. Also, shout out to Phonte for his verse on “A Matter of the Heart.” The man spits flames like Daenerys Targaryen’s babies.

Unfortunately, Boykins’ songwriting can’t keep up with that level of lyricism. His lyrics are solid at best, but come off like soggy poetry at worst. Just take “Show Me Who You Are” – the pulsating track and sharp hand claps go to waste in Boykins’ alphabet soup.

Godlike? Nah. But Love Apparatus is a divine experience for R&B fans.

Best tracks: “B4 The Night Is Thru,” “I Wish,” “Create Beauty”

4 stars out of 5