Maleek Berry’s ‘Isolation Room’ feels too tentative [EP Review]

More than anything, 'Isolation Room' feels populated with first takes.

When you think about it critically, Maleek Berry might be the progeny of contemporary Nigerian AfroR&B without even realizing. The fusion of jumpy African melodies with bops and percussion, which he premiered with his first EP has become a subtle template for professions of love in Nigerian music.

However, he has still been unable to claim his spot as one of Nigeria’s foremost musical talents - either for compelling reasons of abandoning Nigeria for better conditions in the UK or simple lack of will. On his new EP, Isolation Room, he reinvents his sound by using Afrobeat - not Afrobeats - as the platform for some of his sounds.

He is compelling and alluring, but the music lacks the 'Canaan.' There’s a lot of promise without genuine satisfaction. To a large extent, most of the beats on Isolation Room feel incomplete, built on the wrong tempo or lacking an extra melody. Other times, it feels like the way he flows to or the pocket he finds on the beats are wrong.

Sometimes, it feels like both problems collide. In 2016 or 2017, these songs would have been accepted and drooled over like an Igbo woman’s body, but the soundscape is changing rapidly and these sounds don’t feel sufficient. Nonetheless, the Afro-fusion brilliance of ‘One Night’ feels like a well-positioned saving grace that skewers optics in this EP’s favour.

One Night

The same thing can be said of the beautiful R&B culmination to Isolation Room EP. The song documents a man’s willingness for a more straightforward relationship. It feels cut from the 2000s and it perfectly uses that nostalgia for something special. Women - especially - will love this one like Jollof rice!

On the other hand, the first five songs promise so much, yet deliver so little. ‘Far Away’ is cut from a similar cloth as, ‘One Night,’ but it lacks the extra sheaths of melody to take it from promise to satisfaction. ‘Free Your Mind’ is an Afrobeat song that implores a woman to open herself to more possibilities. The music is good, but it fails to hit excellence that it could have hit.

But on the positive side, even when Berry is vibing hard on certain songs, he’s saying something. His songwriting remains one of his greatest features. When push comes to shove, Isolation Room EP will generate great numbers. But the question will remain; could the numbers be better? Only time will tell.

Ratings: /10

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Near fall

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

Tracklist: 1.0/2

Songwriting and Delivery: 1.5/2

Production: 1.1/2

Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.0/2

Execution: 1.1/2

Total:

5.7 - Average