Working under his Kindness moniker Adam Bainbridge made 2012’s overlooked debut album World You Need a Change of Mind not to mention a significant contribution to Blood Orange’s Cupid Deluxe.
His fondness for funk ’90s R&B and house saw him connect a vivid mosaic which he has renewed with his second album Otherness. Gathering an impressive list of guests to help out (Dev Hynes Robyn Kelela M.anifest) but Bainbridge almost seems to falter in his attempts to hand off the vocals.
Robyn has to manoeuvre her vocals around the clumsy stop-start rhythms of “Who Do You Love?” and repress her generally passionate self on the chorus. Kelela who seems born for Bainbridge’s production shines on “World Restart” but then falls victim to some lifeless grooves. Even more deflating is how trivial Bainbridge’s own vocals are in comparison.
What he does is meticulously assembled. Who he surrounds himself with are some incredibly talented and ideal collaborators. But where his soulmate Hynes adds an undeniable finishing touch Bainbridge squanders these opportunities by meandering (re: wanking) his songs to the point of lampooning the music he so idolizes.
On “I’ll Be Back” Bainbridge sings “You forgot my name.” After World You Need a Change of Mind I never would’ve expected to do that but Otherness makes it harder to remember why I care about him.
