“Drive Me Crazy” relies almost entirely on rapper Vic Mensa’s delivery, and it’s a good thing that he brings it, because the would-be hook isn’t very strong. The lyrics about going out, dancing, and having one too many drinks are nicely undercut in the second verse, where Phonte claims, “All I really want / Is just a night at home / With her by candlelight / (Quiet time / Quiet time) But until I find that girl / I wanna hit the floor and we gon’ jam tonight”. “One Too Many”, on the other hand, retains some sonic weirdness while Phonte’s Pharrell-style falsetto-dominated vocals once again hit a sweet spot. Musically, the fat synth bassline and the handclap-snap percussion (plus the occasional chirping “Woo!”) keep the song in the pocket and probably make it a little more palatable to a mainstream listening audience. Syd’s breathy vocals aren’t as impactful as Craig David’s, but they fit the song. “You’re the One” aims for the same kind of smooth R&B as “Got it Good”, but does it in a more traditional style. At the three-minute mark, the whole song shifts gears into a sexy slow jam, leaving the earworms behind for something more low key. More interesting, the track essentially has a second movement. But with multiple listens, that squeaky synth hook and the chorus, “Lately I’ve been glowed up”, burrow into your brain and stay there. Paak that is mostly rapped but features a singsong-y chorus. They back a vocal performance from Anderson. “Glowed Up” is a song that initially annoys, employing similar wobbly bass and a squeaky synth line to aggravating effect. Nothing else hits those high points, but a few tracks come close. He makes what’s already a strong melody better, and it’s a credit to Kaytranada’s production skills that he pulled in such a perfectly suited singer for the song. That makes the song sonically interesting, but it’s David’s smooth vocal performance that sells it. Kaytranada seeds the song with unusual background sounds: a bass line with a frequency so low it seems to wobble coming out of the speakers and a pitch-shifted wordless backing vocal that sounds like it is vibrating of its own accord. This pushes right into “Got It Good”, an R&B delight featuring Craig David on vocals. But he opens up in the final 30 seconds, adding a variety of complicated fills while keeping the original beat going. He keeps a simple, steady hi-hat and snare pattern going, only occasionally shifting a beat or giving a cymbal flourish. Those drums are pushed right up front in the mix, but Riggins plays it mostly straight for the majority of the song. It’s pleasant and catchy, but it also features the live drumming of Karriem Riggins. “Bus Ride” is a chilled-out two-minute instrumental that floats on a glistening bed of strings and synths and tinkling piano. The best Kaytranada has to offer comes early on 99.9%, with two consecutive but very different tracks. Even though he doesn’t do every genre he attempts equally skillfully, there’s a pop music core to most of these songs that keeps 99.9% listenable throughout. Montreal producer-DJ-electronic musician Kaytranada’s debut album is a collage that runs from sparsely arranged hip-hop to smooth R&B to old school instrumental techno.
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