Avant's Self Titled Early Album Review

Avant is one of the most underrated artists in all of music. The Cleveland, Ohio native has had all of his albums go either gold or platinum. However, whenever the brightest stars in R&B are named, Avant is never mentioned. Maybe this will all change with his latest self titled album Avant. Will Avant finally put Avant on the road to superstardom?

The first single off of Avant is the catchy R&B jam When It Hurts. The track is what you have come to expect from Avant as an artist. The song is well produced, written and delivered. Obviously, the track is one of the strongest off the album and one of Avant's best singles to date.

The second single is Break Ya Back (In A Good Way). The song is a sexual track that you expect from early 1990's R&B. The track although cheesy and cliché does work with its strong production and vocal performance.

On Attention, Avant is joined by Snoop Dogg. The track is club thumping, bass heavy track. The track however just seems a bit forced and not really genre or age appropriate. Snoop Dogg delivers a typically strong guest appearance which might help catapult it to the charts.

Sailing is a nice ballad from Avant. The acoustic guitar driven song works well with Avant's vocal delivery. The song will do especially well on adult contemporary music formats as this is tailor-made for that format.

Y.O.U. is in a similar genre as previous chart topper Don't Take Your Love Away. The song is one of the stronger tracks on the album with its strong live instrumentation, vocal arrangement and harmonies.

Out Of Character is more vintage Avant. The chorus is strong and powerful. The verses might lack but the chorus makes up for it.

Sensuality is another strong R&B song. The song sounds much more contemporary than the typical music you expect from Avant. However unlike Attention, this effort works.

Perfect Gentleman is an up-tempo contemporary R&B track. The song sounds familiar yet very different at the same exact time. The chorus on the track shines through with the strong production.

Involve Yourself has an early 1990's vibe to it which works with Avant's vocal performance. The horns and piano rifts work well together on the track.

Material Things is another track with strong horn arrangements and a heavy beat. The writing is a bit ostentatious yet it works.

French Pedicure is interesting in concept however the execution of the concept just does not work no matter how catchy the chorus is.

Avant is yet another strong album from the Cleveland, Ohio native. The album features a good variety of tracks for everyone. Overall Avant gets 8 out of 10. If you are a fan of Avant make sure you pick up Avant when it is available in stores on December 9^th.