On his debut album,
Sean Oliver eschews the over-the-top, almost cartoonish sense of emotionalism that sometimes threatens to make many R&B artists in the '90s a caricature of romanticism.
Solitaire is also less explicitly sexual than much of the post-Let's Get It On R&B recordings, opting for a dreamy romanticism instead.
Oliver displays a point of view that sometimes contrasts conventional soul crooners, occasionally opting for skewed narratives, likely a reflection of one of his main influences,
George Clinton. Although most of the album stays close to themes of candlelit romanticism and partying of the dance floor variety,
Oliver intimates that he is capable of more idiosyncratic outlooks. "The Words," with its funky bass blurps, uses poetry as a means of comparison to women, while the sleepy and loping "Can I Flow?" is a revealing investigation of the singer/songwriter's own musical insecurities. This is nearly unprecedented among "urban" artists, who often descend into hyperconfident posturing.
Oliver even shows a certain broodiness to his personality in the self-explanatory "I Need to Be Alone." The production by
Oliver and
the Boomtang Boys is stellar, incorporating rock-steady rhythmic grooves, funky elements and a vague jazz sheen to create a hybrid of new jack swing and quiet storm. It makes for well-rounded and consistently interesting listening. However, if there is one thing that holds the album back to a certain extent, it is the consistency of the music: there are not enough musical monkey wrenches thrown into the mix. The music is extremely well-crafted and, at times, scintillating, but there is a sameness to the music, from the ballads to the funkier workouts, that can make it seem relatively restrained or undercooked, even when it is not. Still,
Solitaire is a promising album, with plenty of expert songs and Oliver's supple vocals, which bear a slight resemblance to those of
Al Jarreau.