Review Summary: Humanity's condition has never sounded so commercial.
I can always commend an artist when they decide to play with multiple genres at once. To do so takes some sort of talent and skill, especially when each genre has its own nearly infinite potential. It also, unsurprisingly, takes quite a bit of ambition. And boy does our friend Jon Bellion has an abundance of that.
There are, as I see it, two extremes to this type of genre-bending: soaring successes and glaringly painful failures. And these extremes seem to appear in abundance on Mr. Bellion's debut record. Take the song "He Is the Same" (the album's opener) for example. It showcases Bellion at his absolute best on this record: sleek production, catchy synth lines, and a generally fun atmosphere. The production on this song (and on most of the album, really) carries the song and makes it something special. Lyrically, it's nothing horribly impressive or innovative. It's really just Bellion recounting his life before commercial success as an artist. However, his interesting delivery and catchy hooks add some value to the track. Another excellent track "New York Soul (Pt. II)". The instrumental, although bare with mostly just a bass and some drums, is groovy and danceable. The lyrical content, again, isn't all that spectacular. Nevertheless, the last verse is perhaps the best on the entire album: his hopes and concerns about being a celebrity in a hedonistic setting while also maintaining his faith.
While Jon's successes soar impressively high, his lows fall to shocking depths. There are almost no particular elements that are terrible; everything about the worst tracks on "The Human Condition" is just awful. Cheesy lyrics, stale beats, and lackluster delivery are disappointingly abundant. All of these defects are present in spades on the album's armpit, "All Time Low". There's barely anything to criticize production wise on this track: all that's there is a boring drum beat and repetitious synths. The song's real sin, however, are its god awful lyrics. The verses are some of the the worst of 2016: every single one features Bellion bemoaning some ambiguous female figure after a breakup. And the chorus: dear god is it garbage. The word "low" is said an astonishing 86 times (at least!) throughout the course of the song. The only slightly redeeming feature of this song is its catchiness (but even then, it's mostly just irritating).
Besides individual successes and misfires, there are a few overarching issues with the record: its thematic topics and ambition. Thematically, most of the lyrics are centered around love, fame, and God. And while Jon has plenty to say about any of these given topics, he rarely says anything of substance. That isn't to say that he isn't sincere or genuine; rather, his sincerity and genuine personality gets in the way of developing his lyrics into something more mature. Additionally, his ambition often gets in the way of developing and refining his music into something even better. I really do applaud his ambition, though it seems as though reeling it in would be in his best interest.
Notwithstanding my criticisms and grievances, "The Human Condition" is a pretty decent record with plenty of fun moments. It hits the pitfalls of a debut perhaps harder than most, but it showcases Jon Bellion's talents and potential. I look forward to his next project.
Best tracks: He Is the Same, New York Soul (Pt. II), Overwhelming, Hand of God (Outro).
Worst Tracks: All Time Low, 80's Films, Maybe IDK.
