Andrew Gold
Contributing Writer
Following his critically acclaimed freshman album, “The Human Condition,” Long Island-based singer/rapper/producer Jon Bellion dropped his second full-length record last Friday. While significantly less prolific in both quantity of songs and radio-ready singles than his first album, “Glory Sound Prep” is by no means an album you should pass up a chance to listen to.
Bellion has made a name for himself mixing smooth electronic beats with a genre-bending variety of musical styles, layering in lyrics about his struggles with finding love, his relationship with God and living the right way. This lyric is no different sonically, switching often from slower ballad-type music to upbeat pop/electronic songs to straight-up rap. While his older records (“The Human Condition” as well as earlier mixtapes “The Separation” and “The Definition”), are more sporadic in theme as they focus on multifaceted pieces of Bellion’s life, the 10-track “Glory Sound Prep” really boils down to one major theme: dealing with his newfound fame.
The majority of songs on the record deal with Bellion’s aversion to the limelight, introduced in the outro of the album’s first track, “Conversations with My Wife,” in which Bellion laments, “They’ll say that I fell off, and it’s alright/ I’m so ready to run from the spotlight.” If you gather one thing from this album, it should be that Bellion does not like the idea that he could be changed by fame, saying, “Who gives a fuck about the plaques on my wall?” and attributing the entirety of his success to God, “I thought my way to greatness/ I could claim this, but He gave me the brain.” His discussion of fame culminates in the ninth track of the album, “Cautionary Tales,” a dramatic telling of Bellion’s life as if it were a folk legend. This track perfectly sums up the dichotomy between Bellion’s desire to make music that others can enjoy and his desire to evade fame. It’s definitely worth a listen.
The other recurring theme in the album, referenced in tracks such as “Conversations with My Wife,” “Let’s Begin,” “Cautionary Tales,” “Blu” and “Couples Retreat,” is Bellion’s relatively new marriage (he got married in April 2018, a difficult fact to find on Google, meaning Bellion is at least partially succeeding in avoiding the spotlight). This marks a departure from his older music, which often detailed his very real and relatable struggles to find real love. Bellion certainly loves his wife, and while his search for someone to love is over, he has not run out of things to say about love or being worthy of it. This secondary theme gives the album a completely different feel than that of his older music, resonating with a more mature sound. “Glory Sound Prep” culminates in the song “Mah’s Joint,” a song about his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease, and the only song that doesn’t feel entirely in tune with the album’s theme. It’s a beautiful and emotional song, concluding the album on a poignant note.
In conclusion, Bellion crafts a beautiful and cohesive album about love and fame. I do wish the album was longer, and unlike “The Human Condition,” “All Time Low,” “Guillotine” and “Overwhelming,” it is hard to pick out any chart-ready singles. I also didn’t love the relatively unknown featured artists on “Let’s Begin” and “Adult Swim,” although Bellion is given a chance to show off his rapping ability in these songs. I predict “Glory Sound Prep” to be somewhat of a commercial flop compared to “The Human Condition,” but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Overall, I rate the entire album an eight out of 10, its best songs being: “Blu,” “JT,” “The Internet” and “Cautionary Tales.”