Review Summary: A little too much synth and cliche with not enough soul but Mario still delivers a relatively solid experience for fans.
I like Mario, I really do. I find something uniquely appealing in his voice that appeals to a sense that other R&B artists of the modern age simply don't seem to meet. I wish Mario was better than D.N.A, I wish he was more Neo-Soul at times, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still a solid musician with ambition.
D.N.A is the fourth album released by Mario and to be quite honest it's the weakest. That being said it offers a number of strong moments, with a number of catchy singles and interesting R&B arrangements.
The first track is easily the main reason I wish better for Mario. In 'Break Up' Mario is reduced to background noise in favor of forgettable rap verses and a simpleton's arrangement. The fact that this is the only billboard hit on the album is truly a disappointment.
Luckily things get better as Mario settles more into the comfort zone he has established over his career which is both a good and a bad thing. It's a good thing in that Mario allows his emotive voice to soar and undulate but bad in that his songs come off more as sappy, goofy appeals to naive love than any real kind of genuine soul. Mario feels as though he's taken a step down from Turning Point and Go in terms of lyrical content, content to simply beg and plead and ensure he's 'not afraid to cry.' While that's all well and good it gets a little tiring when it's the replayed like a broken record.
On this album 'Stranded', 'Starlight', 'Get Out' and 'I Choose You' are standouts. They combine pleasant vocal harmonies with throbbing beats and are some of the more varied tracks on the album. Again though, Mario fails to reach the same level he has reached before, failing to surpass even Go in terms of its singles. The filler is much more forgettable here, some of it is even painful ('Before She Said Hi').
It's hard to reccomend this album to anyone other than fans of Mario because it feels like that's the only person Mario is trying to reach at this point. While I can't say I didn't enjoy this album I feel like it's too close minded in its scope and underutilizes an artist I think is much more talented than his body of work shows.
