JRDN | IAMJRDN

Canadian bred R&B artist Jordan Croucher aka JRDN seeks to take the R&B/hip-hop market by storm with his second album, IAMJRDN (I Am Jordan). The set is a slickly produced album that pulls out ‘all the stops’ from a ‘bag of familiar tricks’ that characterizes modern R&B. Additionally, JRDN holds his own infusing some genuinely soulful performances into sometimes gimmick-driven songs. Essentially, the final product is a solid and enjoyable effort that shows the grand potential of JRDN (the boy can ‘sang’), but does not necessarily separate the talented singer from his contemporaries. At least when the material does little to separate JRDN from other artists who are concentrated on the “electro-pop R&B movement” (Jay Sean, Taio Cruz,or Jason DeRülo) JRDN never loses vocal focus and always sounds like a capable and worthy musical artist.

“The One” opens the album with fresh production work that sounds squarely like an R&B song from 2010. While a fast-pace hip-hop leaning cut like “The One” does not necessarily reflect the vocal prowess of JRDN, vocally, he sounds incredibly polished and as far as his overall performance, you sense that this performer has an inherent state presence and swagger about him. It is by no means revolutionary or extremely memorable, but it starts the album off strongly. “Come Come” is a better cut with the slick production work continuing. What is better where production is concerned with “Come Come” is that the producers ‘rein themselves in’ providing a well organized palette to support JRDN as he paints his lovely tenor vocals over it. The ‘low vibe’ emotion that the listener gains from the cut, alongside a killer hook makes “Come Come” feel like it could be a genuine hit.

First single “U Can Have It All” does not eclipse the valedictory “Come Come,” but it is a smart choice for a promo single by all means. The production is bright and shimmering and JRDN upper range is exploited here. This track again has no ties to innovation, but is simply put a well put together contemporary R&B cut. A dance remix of this cut closes the album. “HD” is also solid and changes pace from previous cuts. JRDN’s vocal performance is best described as ‘sunny’ hear, as his vocals ‘shine’ as he is “…falling in love with this high definition chick…” New? No, of course not as R. Kelly has been making incredibly crazy allusions to love and women for, well – his whole career.

“4 Tha Ghetto” features more slick, modern sounding production. It is a solid track that stands out here because of JRDN’s solid vocal performance and the well conceived, yet ‘conservative-enough’ production work. Tracks “Like Magic” and “I Don’t Care” are both solid, but lack distinction. Both cuts feature incredibly sound production work, but the gimmickry of modern R&B hampers these cuts slightly; they don’t feel as authentic as better cuts like “Come Come” or lead single “U Can Have It All.” “I Don’t Care,” to its credit, does find JRDN finally letting loose and breaking past the gimmicks to deliver some absolutely fantastic vocal ad libs. If only JRDN would ‘let loose’ more often!

“All We Need” featuring Grammy-nominated fellow Canadian vocalist Melanie Fiona is easily one of the album’s best and most authentic cuts.Here, the production work is reigned in allowing JRDN to show off a beautiful vocal tone and allowing Melanie Fiona to shine as always.Here, the vocal chemistry between the two is perfect. The focus on the song itself and its ‘muses’ make “All We Need” a better cut than most.

“Forever And A Day” plays on gimmicks once more and by this time, it has grown a bit ‘old.’ “Mirror” is better and more enjoyable, with JRDN showcasing his vocal talents in better capacity here. “Top It All” is the high-watermark by this point in the album, finding JRDN slowing down the pace (it is past due at this point). The refrain is solid and vocally, JRDN sounds more like a sincere vocalist as opposed to a singer trying to assimilate to the latest trends. “Crazy” finds the singer drifting in a pop direction which works, but does not come off as natural as the R&B cuts. “Cross The Line” delivers nice vocals, but lacks in excitement. Closing cut “U Can Have It All” appears in a dance remix to close the album.

For the most part, JRDN’s IAMJRDN is a solid album that indulges the slightest bit too much into modern R&B’s ‘bags of tricks.‘ Instead of being fifty minutes, he maybe could have trimmed the project to forty for an even more cohesive effort. The best moments are the stripped moments that show off JRDN’s impressive pipes such as his grand duet with Melanie Fiona. All quibbles aside, IAMJRDN does enough to prove this vocalist is talented and deserves to be a star.

Brent Faulkner
The Urban Music Scene