Diandra Reviews It All

I am going to be honest. I did not expect Caleb Hawley to come out so strong at SOB’s. Frankly, I did not know what to expect; I went in blind, but now I see. His new album, Love, Drugs, & Decisions, came out this Friday, and gave me the feeling of an R&B folk hero skipping through synths and acoustics to land on love. In essence, I thought I was going to get a singer standing centerstage and envisioning singing to his ex for every song. Is that a bad thing? HECK NO! Yet, what I got was an old school jamboree of smooth vocals and sensual stylings.

Sometimes, I really miss old- school R&B; from the close-ups of men licking their lips and then busting into a two step over their Lamborghini or guys sending dozens of roses to their woman after another night of their “acting” single. I long for the random riffing of of every verse to the the point that even a vowel can be turned into a vocal odyssey. I marvel at all these fabulous things because Caleb Hawley was serving me them. In a print jacket with back-up dancers and a curly fro that made me want to yell, “Soul Glo!” from Coming to America, Hawley has modernized all that we love of the past. He walks around the stage looking at the crowd with a Boyz II Men glare that says, “Hey Baby! I made my mistakes, but I am here to fix them!”. The audience did not know whether to swoon through songs “Carelessly” or “I Choose” or grab a towel and wipe the tears, sweat, and ferocity from tracks “Goodbye” and “Addiction”. In true classic R&B, Hawley approaches love songs with a definitiveness. Each track is about a decision being made, for better or worse, on his love life. Whether he is staying alone and partying hard or loving someone and crumbling at never feeling enough for the person, Hawley presents these tracks like live-action episodes on his life, and he knows how to give dramatics. From keeling on the floor to sitting on a chair to serve notes with a side of genuinely, relived agony, Hawley’s voice echoes across a room with sensuality.

Caleb Hawley is the reason people say voices are sexy because they manage to etch out a human passion that spoken words or physical signs cannot. When he gets into tracks like, “U &I”, in concert, you either have two options: find a lover at the bar or join Emergency Tinder, a dating app for those desperate for same-day match-ups. The point is that Caleb Hawley is a concert to remind you how delicious love is. Even when it is going wrong, love still manages to leave a memorable, rich taste in your mouth that makes you salivate for more, and Caleb Hawley’s show will definitely leave you wanting more. For More Information On Caleb Hawley Click Here.