Raymond V Raymond

Sex-driven star moves out of family home, back to bachelor pad.

The divorce album is a venerable staple of soul and rock music, and the clunky title of Usher Raymond latest offering leaves us in little doubt that its subject is his recent marital break-up.

Two years after Here I Stand celebrated his life of contented domesticity with stylist wife Tameka Foster and sampled their babies’ gurgling, Raymond V Raymond finds the R&B star hurling regrets and recriminations – mostly at himself – and readying his loins to renew the bachelor life.

Over lithe, languid beats, Usher ‘fesses up to infidelity on Foolin’ Around, but any remorse is dwarfed by his lascivious appetite for carnal pleasures ahead. Pro Lover and So Many Girls lick their lips with an R Kelly-like relish, while Daddy’s Home greets a conquest and cuts straight to the chase: “Girl, tonight we’ll do a lot of sexin’.”

The will.i.am-produced number-one single OMG shimmers in a luscious haze but Raymond V Raymond mostly drifts by, voice on Auto-tune and beats on autopilot. On this evidence, Usher has one thing on his mind right now, and it’s not music.

Album Review by Ian Gittins