It’s undeniable that PartyNextDoor has been one of the leading pillars of US contemporary R&B over the last decade. The Canadian was the inaugural signee of Drake’s OVO Sound label, has worked with a myriad of the world’s biggest names, and has found critical and commercial success with each of his previous three albums. Since his imperfect but enjoyable 2020 project “PARTYPACK”, solo releases had been sparse from PND, until he returned recently with a smattering of promising singles, all teasing his now newly-released fourth studio album.

So what is different about PartyNextDoor on P4? Not all that much. That’s not necessarily a negative though. The global superstar knows his pocket and sits comfortably within it, offering atmospheric and inoffensive trap-tinged R&B cuts for late night drives and LED lit rooms. His vocal work across the album is solid, as melodically explorative as ever before – a track like “M a k e I t T o T h e M o r n i n g”, for example, brings an ethereal emotional potency that was somewhat absent on his early records. The tracklist is sharper than the bloated third self-titled predecessor from 2016, instead feeling carefully curated and cohesive; generally offering a smooth and immersive listening experience, although the skits don’t add much thematic depth and feel indulgent.

On the record, PND is at his best when he ups the tempo and elevates beyond the hazy and moody tone that begins to feel derivative at points. “F o r C e r t a i n” is a standout track, rhythmically more present than much of the album, a sun-tinged ballad that feels an out of place but welcomed shift from the album’s one-noted sonic bourgeois.

PARTYNEXTDOOR4 (P4) is a solid entry in the Canadian superstar’s canon, certainly not rewriting the rulebook or straying too far from the sound that drew him acclaim to begin with, but a cinematic and succinct body of work nonetheless.

Listen to the album…