Less immediate pop music.

After a fairly tame first album from KindnessÔÇÖ Adam Bainbridge, the release of Otherness sees a more coherent statement. Here, he continues to build on his industrious reputation as a pop artist, tightening up his sound to produce a sense of clarity in search of creating pop music that is, what he describes as, ÔÇÿless immediateÔÇÖ.

The album features a star-studded collection of collaborators, ranging from Blood OrangeÔÇÖs Devont├® Hynes to Robyn and Kelela. With mixing from Blue May and Jimmy Douglass also featuring, itÔÇÖs clear that a strong studio album was the aim. The strengths of Otherness lie in BainbridgeÔÇÖs clear talent as a producer, with a slick blend of jazz and R&B moving from the soft funk of tracks such┬áas ÔÇÿWhy DonÔÇÖt You Love MeÔÇÖ into the briskness of ÔÇÿWorld RestartÔÇÖ.

BainbridgeÔÇÖs lyrical scope remains every part in the realm of pop, with loves lost and found prevailing. The tracks are free of guitar constructed around piano, horns and bass creating a tasteful, soft sound. The arrangements chosen by Bainbridge offer a rare sense of clarity, producing an album with a strong element of professionalism.

However, just as debut album World, You Need a Change of Mind lacked ambition, Otherness again falls short. There is no doubt that the arrangements are beautifully crafted, but vocally they lack depth of emotion. The tracks remain hollow, lacking a source of tension and the overall precision is distorted by uninspired melodies and painfully slow tempos.

Otherness is a seamlessly produced album, full of sultry saxophone and soulful interjections, but the absence of substance is undeniable. By aiming to make ÔÇÿpop music thatÔÇÖs less immediate than other engineered pop,ÔÇÖ we are left with vocals that lack soul and a sense of self-awareness and tracks void of memorability.