Hi, everyone. Samethony Fittano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Smino album, Maybe in Nirvana.

Here we have the fourth full-length album of singer, rapper, songwriter, all-around talent, Smino, a versatile guy whose very diverse palate over the years of his career, I think has proven to be his greatest asset because, while I wasn't necessarily blown away by his work out of the gate, there was most definitely something to the way he fused all of these elements of jazz rap and neo-soul and pop and alternative R&B, as well as just a splash of trap as well, especially on his last record, Luv 4 Rent, which was one of my favorite albums of 2022, where if you listen to that record, you will hear Smino pulling together those influences and more into a very woozy intoxicating soup of songs. It's a record you can really sink into, packed with entrancing beats and flows, thoughtful lyrical content, elastic vocal harmonies. It was really a record whose tracks slapped despite their subtlety.

Now, weirdly, I was oblivious to the release of this new album over here. I wasn't even anticipating it. And considering how much I enjoyed Luv 4 Rent, lord knows I would have been looking to this release had I known it was dropping. However, I guess I forgive myself for being ignorant because this album didn't really see a huge multi-single rollout or anything like that. For the most part, there just seems to have been a music video released in tandem with the album for the song "Dear Friend". But jumping into an album with little to no expectations can also be good as well.

But when I actually sat down and listened to this I had to do a double take. This is Smino? This is the same Smino?

Because on first listen, this record did come across super basic to my ears, considering that this is the same person who came up collaborating with singers and rappers who are similarly sleek and subversive, Saba, Noname, Ravin Lenae, who is also on this record at a few points.

But yeah, this album is 10 tracks. It's about 29 minutes, a pretty meager offering, considering how long it's been since the last record. The production, for the most part, isn't all that gripping or lush, at least not in comparison with previous efforts. For the most part, it's a lot of very plain and chill trap with a steady beat flair, I would say, which is listenable, but it's definitely lacking in variety and flavor and dynamics, like on the track "Ready Set Goku".

On top of that, I feel like Smino's delivery isn't really doing too much for me this time around. A lot of the rap performances on this record, in comparison with previous albums, is quite understated and not really all that memorable. Like on the title track where he pretty much sidesteps a lot of the melodic embellishments that made some of his previous tracks so great.

Content-wise, I'm not really all that enamored with what's going on with this project, too. I mean, I suppose the rhymes and metaphors and similes are acceptable, but it's nothing going above and beyond in terms of wit or focus, even if the track "Dear Friend" does give the album a relatively decent start with Smino pretty much painting a picture of his current state referencing his recent Grammy nomination for Luv 4 Rent, how great it is to enjoy in these successes with his loved ones, too, which is cool. You want to see a talented guy in the music industry make it and do well for himself.

But by that same token, it feels like the talent that made his previous record so special and standout is being watered down on this album in favor of a sound and a songwriting approach that is just streamlined and simplified. I mean, the song "Lee" even feels like an effort to dumb things down in a way as it's just a very glossy dreamy bit of autotune pop rap that doesn't really have a whole lot to it. In fact, I would say the vocals are so heavily processed, they make Smino's very unique inflections sound goofy.

The chill vibes continue on to the bit of reggae fusion that Smino does on "Tequan". Later on the record, Bun B appears, and as legendary as he is, as much as I like him on an album like this, he sticks out like a sore thumb. He doesn't exactly bring the presence or vibe that I think compliments much of what is going on through the rest of the album, or at least he serves as a reminder that a lot of the rapping that we're getting on this LP isn't particularly good or stand out. We have an unceremonious closer at the end of the album, too.

I just don't really know what to say about this record other than that it just feels like a very half-hearted step down from Luv 4 Rent. I don't know why. I have no real idea or explanation as to how things ended up this way. To go back to the song "Ms. Joyce" with Bun B that I was just talking about, there's this opening line just before the music starts, where Smino is seemingly talking about taking his stuff to another level and churning out hits. But the issue is that I'm not hearing the hits.

While his music on this record is most definitely taking a simpler approach than it has in the past, it's not like that's resulted in a bunch of tracks that are wild and bright and in your face and crazy. He's not dropping bangers here. If anything, he's dropped a record that is just the definition of meh, which is why I'm feeling a light 5 on it.

Anthony Fantano. Smino. Forever.