THE COMEBACK STARTS HERE…

[Video][Website]
[7.29]

Anthony Easton: Maximally obsessive, sort of like how icebergs cleave, drop, and melt into the Arctic, but in a 90s remix of pure German romanticism or the section of Shelley’s Frankenstein in the Arctic, or how a polar bear eats a seal, but less natural.
[9]

David Turner: “Hold On, We’re Going Home” for middle-aged black people. Yep, still sticking with that. 
[8]

Crystal Leww: Babyface is back in the news again after helping to produce large parts of Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly. That album is remarkable for how rooted it sounds in the past while still sounding remarkably youthful and contemporary. In “Hurt You”, he teams up with longtime collaborator Toni Braxton to update her sound as well. Unlike Grande, Braxton has nothing to prove, no image to create; everything she does musically now is just desserts, and it’s a real treat for us that “Hurt You” sounds remarkably timeless. Duet ballads can sometimes drag, but both Babyface and Braxton sound so genuinely, relatably heartbroken over a production that never sounds outdated. Most notably, their chemistry together is incredible. The parts where they alternate and trade lines are so gut-wrenching and real that they could have only been created by two people who know each other well. Every alternating “hurt you” in the chorus is like a direct jab at the heart. That moment in the second verse where Braxton sings “I apologize” and Babyface replies “don’t apologize, don’t apologize” is perfectly timed, perfectly emoted, perfectly produced. Sure, it’s a lucky coincidence that this style has come back into fashion, but it’s also just two legends doing their fucking thing.
[10]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: “I never meant to break your little heart,” Braxton hums, finding condescension and heartache and selfishness in an ad-lib. This moment captures what Braxton and her duet partner are reaching for: a nuanced depiction of relationships petering out and the ensuing emotional mess in its ugliness and catharsis. (Their upcoming album is titled Love, Marriage & Divorce.) But this is merely a moment, as fine as it is, and “Hurt You” is far too clean and polite to convince you of the ache its artists want to communicate. For the most part they’ve been hurt far worse and, well, far better.
[5]

Alfred Soto: Her nineties singles stand as the finest plush R&B ballads of their time, and this reunion with the writer-producer of so many of them gets poignancy points. But why the decision to hide Braxton and give Babyface’s nondescript vocal the lead? The hint of Stargate lilt aside, the production isn’t special either.
[6]

Brad Shoup: WOW I thought it was all Babyface the first go-round. What a fantastically smoky instrument Braxton still wields. I’ve got a soft spot for R&B singers hitting pause with “damn,” so we’re on good footing early in. Both singers are oddly congruent with their message; Kenny’s assurance tags put the real-convo feel over. The upward vocal stepping on the chorus is magnificent… I’m sure I’ve heard those notes hit on some EDM tune, and they’re deployed to a transcendent effect here. The tempo is perhaps a bit too slow for stepping, but some sharp remixer should fix that.
[8]

Jonathan Bogart: Soggy and overcooked, with a barely-there conceit and rickety musical scaffolding that’s been used a hundred times over to the same middle-of-the-road purpose. Saved, to the extent that it is, by strong singing from both parties. Braxton’s throaty lower register is deeply affecting, but Babyface having grown out of his youthful tics and querulousness is even more impressive.
[5]