4 out of 5

Label: Major Record Label

Produced by: Jonathan Bates

While Big Black Delta’s Jonathan Bates’ songwriting tendencies have generally run towards the big and bombastic – from the radio-baiting guitar blasts of Mellowdrone to the 80s-embracing pop of BBD – his solo project under this moniker has felt like a bit more of a playground, and we’ve seen albums swing between genre deepdives the more experimental. But what’s somewhat haunted a good many of these releases is a bit of a music first vibe, and a penchant for a clever rhyme over the impactful: so hooks are never in short supply, but the lyrics, beyond some good 1-2 punches, may not connect.

4 doesn’t necessarily fix this, but I think it’s a great step towards doing so, giving me some lines to think over while grooving to the solid roster of tracks, which find Bates somewhat splitting the differences between what he’s done so far: hitting hard on guitars (Lord Only Knows, Summoner, Canary); happy to go all-in on 80s pop (Vessel, Heaven Here I Come); and still sprinkling in some atmospherics, such as on mid-album synth pause Sunday. I’d say his production skills have also hit a peak, masterfully using his soaring voice in layers against precisely mixed beats, electronic tweaks, and various other foregrounded elements. This – and some of his best track sequencing – helps to smooth out the way some prior discs have hit hitches when switching between tonal modes, as 4 does track-by-track moves from heavy to poppy to experimental and back. And, as mentioned, the lyrics, if still seeming to lean towards tunes on love and lost loves, feel like they’ve rounded some corner on maturity: the song titles, and some of the lyrics, suggest a religious bent, and I’m not sure how seriously to take that, or if it’s just imagery; the video for Vessel – if its visuals are intended to be tied to the song – are food for thought as well. Nothing sticks out, exactly, but I like that I’m actually listening to the words now instead of just singing along – though it’s certainly incredibly easy to do that as well.