“In the end, I believe in something I can’t see.”

If the majority of Ryan Beatty’s sophomore album Dreaming of David forsakes the indie-pop of his debut (Boy in Jeans) and faithfully sticks to a lush, layered, slow-tempo R&B formula, at least it’s one that occasionally stumbles upon synthetic beauty. Overtop of soundbeds of electronic instruments, Beatty sings in a falsetto pitch shifted and thoroughly mutated by a variety of effects.

With confessional lyrics that describe a tempestuous gay relationship,¹ as well as the songwriter’s vices, insecurities, religious struggles, and spiritual agony, the songwriting is hardly insightful, but there are a handful of gorgeous melodies that really shine with the expressive vocal treatment, especially the Frank Ocean/James Blake-esque title track and the refrain on ‘Evergreen’: “If there’s nothing else ‘round the corner…”

Beatty, an elusive figure who began his career in the Justin Bieber mold by posting cover songs on YouTube, has contributed to well-received hip-hop projects like Tyler, the Creator’s Igor and several Brockhampton albums. Dreaming of David is a showcase for his autotuned vocals, but is fairly hollow once the shine wears off, and strangely devoid of a cohesive identity despite the uniformity of the general songwriting approach (I can’t decide if the random drum ‘n’ bass breakdowns are inspired or schizophrenic). It gets better as it goes on and more organic instrumentation breaks up the sterile sonic palette.

Favorite Tracks: Evergreen; Backseat; Dreaming of David.

1. Beatty is public about his homosexual orientation, and some of the lyrics are, while not exactly explicit, also not as cryptic about their romantic inspiration as, say, those of Sufjan Stevens.