Many songs these days seem to be resonating a negative message about the artists feeling under the weather and such. However, Tai Verdez does the opposite with his new album HDTV by making the listener feel like they would be listening to songs from the early 2010s when music was more vibrant. This is not to say that there aren’t sad songs on the 20 track playlist, but Verdez delivers in such a way creating the illusion that everything is okay – since it sounds upbeat – when in reality it is not.

Verdes (known for “A-O-K”) seems to bring a lot of Anderson .Paak inspiration into this new album, clear in songs such as “Kingdom Come” and “3 Outfits”. .Paak (known for his work on the collaboration album Leave the Door Open by Silk Sonic, and more) brings an electro-funk/disco vibe to his songs, which Verdes successfully brings to many of his songs. 

While some songs felt like songs one could potentially vibe and bop their head with such as “Shut up.” and “sheluvme”, songs such as “Trix in the Bag” and “TWO SUGARS” felt like songs you would hear in the background of shopping trip to a strip mall.

An issue I see recurring in multiple songs throughout the tracklist is that while the bridge of many of the individual songs sound pleasing to the ear, the hook was lacking when it should be the main attraction of the song to lure the listener in. I found myself stopping myself from skipping to the middle of the song to get to the interesting parts for some of the songs, which I feel I shouldn’t have to do.

To say the least, HDTV was a little disappointing as I expected to be listening to something that would immediately catch my attention, rather than having to force myself to sit through the hooks of songs that ended up sounding decent. I’d give this album a 5/10 for this reason as well as the lack of originality, but plus-points for gathering inspiration from other artists to make the album well-rounded.