Within a year-and-a-half of nearly topping the Billboard 200 with
Life of a DON
,
Don Toliver
returned with
Love Sick
, an aptly titled set that's more engrossing and intimate despite its much longer procession of guest collaborators. At times,
Toliver
came across as listless on
, but here he sounds involuntarily immersed in the material, dazed if lucid instead of adrift. Preview tracks such as the
S.O.S. Band
-quoting "Do It Right,"
Kali Uchis
duet "4 Me," and impulsive slow jam "Leave the Club" (toughened by an appearance from
GloRilla
) didn't make the album's arrival anticlimactic. If anything, they undersold the LP, barely hinting at what was in store. Among the highlights are shrewd collaborations with
James Blake
Charlie Wilson
, and
Brent Faiyaz
, and unassisted gems such as "Time Heals All," "Leather Coat," and "Company, Pt. 3." ~ Andy Kellman