'Good Vibes Vol. I' is a commendable, yet centrally flawed effort from Chillz [ALBUM REVIEW]

Across Twitter and Instagram, it generated niche buzz from well-wishers and supporters.

Not much is known about the talented act other than how his vocals impressively opened M.I. Abaga's experimental project, Rendezvous. He is elusive, but his talent is too peculiar to be overlooked. There's something about his technique which makes him seem like a chameleon.

For every beat, Chillz has a different approach, style, voice, cadence, vocal pitch and even vocal texture that will elude you if you are not too careful. While that is versatility, it points to deep-seated mounds of talent.

His album, Good Vibes, Vol. I stays true to the album title, his name and the album art. The largely afro-fusion project feels like the soundtrack to a cold, rainy lo-fi evening in Eket, Akwa Ibom State where a select group of friends colonize an empty pool side bar, rolling up and living good.

The music is danceable, but it's chill vibes and suited for languid episodes. The good part is that the album is consistent throughout and showcases a brilliant Chillz show his adaptable abilities as the beat arrangement - not necessarily the genre - demands.

Tracklist, songwriting and themes

The is commendable detail in how Chillz arranges the songs on Good Vibes Vol. I. It aids sonic cohesion and transcendence.

The album opens up to gratitude on 'Intro' and 'Grateful,' celebration then took centre stage on 'Shun (Turkey),' love became a topic on 'Down,' enjoyment on 'Chop Life' featuring Falz, inspiration on 'Start Again' and 'Smile' while 'Dey Alright' culminates the vibes.

It gave the impression that Chillz understood that even in happiness there's imperfection. The songs are not all feel-good songs. Songs like 'Start Again' and 'Smile' are inspirational; aiming to inspire a jolt after a bad spell.

While it seems Chillz intended 'chill good vibes' to be the central feeling his audience derives from his music, the sonic uniformity and single genre (afro-fusion/afro-swing) makes the album monotonous.

By the middle of the project, it feels like you are listening to the same song over and again albeit with Chillz not sounding boring on any song. It's just about the sound.

As a body of work, the sonic cohesion is slightly excessive. Even when you like gourmet, you will get tired if you ate it for one week straight.

Individually, there is nothing wrong with the songs, but as a body of work the album sounds too monotonous.

One thing that could have saved the project is track list. 'Good Vibes' could have been an opened followed by 'Intro' and 'Grateful' merged into one song for track two.

For this reason, I think the track list could have been;

Good Vibes

Intro + Grateful

Shun (Turkey)

Down

Start Again

Smile

Chop Life

Dey Alright

This way, it might have softened the monotonous feel of the album. When you want to make a project this cohesive, it is important you make your track list convey diversity so you don't bore your audience and make the conversation about your weaknesses than your obvious strengths.

On a song-by-song basis, the topics and songwriting are just impressive.

Features

While the Falz verse stands out and 'Start Again' featuring Sir Dauda is possibly the best song on the album, it's like Chillz oozes an aura that traps everyone. All the features could not escape to do anything different, they all sound like Chillz.

It's like everyone except Falz sounds exactly the way Chillz wants them to. Even Falz sang. Sir Dauda wanted to breakout with his high-pitched vocal delivery, but still couldn't. 'Smile' is a different genre, but it still evokes that chill, laidback sound.