The Singles Jukebox

Update: Google is now slightly more informed…

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[6.78]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Complete the following line: “I know we don’t speak, but you’re still on my ______.” What’d you guess? Was it “mind”? That would be the correct answer for any pop song made in the 20th century, but Amber Mark is 24 years old and that’s not specific enough to capture the experience that young people have today. She instead ends the line with “feed,” making a love song about reconnecting with someone you’re still loosely connected with via social media. Consequently, hearing Mark profess “I wanna see your face” and DRAM casually state “I ain’t seen you in a while” feels doubly meaningful. While you can become privy to someone’s life through a quick browse of their Instagram and Twitter profiles, nothing compares to the warmth and intimacy of face-to-face encounters. And as Mark and DRAM sing about meeting up, the New Jack Swing pastiche becomes more than cheap nostalgia; it’s a bridge between the past and present, conjuring up feelings of a shared youth that make you feel that nothing’s really changed.
[7]

Josh Love: Amber Mark is savvy enough to know that taking a throwback cut like “Put You On” from rote nostalgia ploy to something that can stand on its own doesn’t have to mean anything more than updating the slang. A little “drippin’,” a little “glow up,” some “you’re still on my feed,” and suddenly this dusty 90s R&B redux feels at home in 2018. And speaking of the anxiety of influence, it’s nice to hear Mark capable of casting aside the shadow of Sade that’s loomed over much of her work.
[7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The modern lyrical conceits and the vaguely retro production lend “Put You On” an interesting aesthetic, but anachronism can’t hide how thin everything here is — DRAM does the best with what little he’s given, but by the time he arrives the song has already exhausted most of its ideas.
[5]

Thomas Inskeep: This is R&B out of its time, the kind of thing that I can’t imagine getting radio play in 2018 in the US, which makes me sad — because this is pretty great. “Put You On” is a midtempo track with a big boom-bap beat (I think that’s a sample of the drums from “Bonita Applebaum”), confident vocals, and a few bars from DRAM that don’t add much but at least don’t detract. Mark has a strong, silky voice, and this makes me want to hear more from her.
[7]

David Lee: Very Ashanti and Ja updated for the SZA era.
[7]

Will Adams: It’s rare for throwback R&B of this type to actually capture the charm and chemistry of its inspirations, but Amber Mark and DRAM are as good a pairing as Ashanti and Ja Rule. The idea of rekindling an old flame while flexing (“You might not recognize me dripping in these diamonds”) is an added bonus.
[8]

Will Rivitz: “Only thing that’s been changed is my money and my clothes,” sings Mark, and so it goes: if you had told me this song came out in 2003, I wouldn’t bat an eye. If nobody gives a shit about Ashanti anymore, I find it hard to believe I should feel differently about this one.
[5]

Julian Axelrod: A sweet, sultry spin on a strain of R&B that hasn’t been in vogue for at least a decade. This feels a little more label-dictated than Amber Mark’s past singles, but the fact that she doesn’t get lost in the throwback is a testament to her presence. If DRAM is trying to pivot into the Ja Rule/Fat Joe lane of endearingly goofy pop features, I will support him 1000 per cent.
[7]

Ian Mathers: It’s a bit of a shame this only came out in September, and a bigger one I didn’t hear it until now, after our (permanently?) prolonged summer came to a close. Summery, sort of subtly throwback-y (right down to something about the drum programming I can’t quite put my finger on), exactly the kind of relatively low-key jam that goes well with humidity and aimlessness.
[8]