The second biggest surprise to me about the new Anderson .Paak album is how quickly it came after the previous.

“Ventura” is the fourth record from the sometimes-rapper, sometimes-R&B singer Anderson .Paak, and it comes less than six months after his previous record, “Oxnard.”

Up until this point, .Paak was on a pretty steady schedule of releasing albums every two years — his debut, “Venice,” dropped in 2014; “Malibu” in 2016; “Oxnard” last year.

And, once again, up until this point, .Paak was on a steady progression with his albums, with “Oxnard” being far and away his most interesting.

“Ventura,” though, is simply forgettable. That’s the biggest surprise from an artist I’ve come to respect so much over the past five years.

The problem with “Ventura” is that it almost feels like .Paak is phoning the record in. “Ventura” easily reads as the leftovers from the cutting room floor, as there’s a notable lack of congruity on the record. None of these songs feel like they were meant to be put together.

To make matters worse, they don’t feel like they were put on the album with any clear intention. For example, the album’s opening track, “Come Home,” feels less like an intro track and more like a late album cut. Even an appearance from Outkast’s André 3000 isn’t enough to save the song. In fact, much to my surprise, André totally derails the track with one of his weakest verses of recent memory, seemingly forcibly shunted into a song that otherwise had no hip-hop leanings. André turns what was a funky but out of place song into a mess with a verse that just felt underdone.

Throughout the track list, .Paak wears his influences on his sleeve far more often than he has on previous records; it seems like he’s desperately trying to channel Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay and Smokey Robinson, who actually appears as a featured vocalist on the second track, “Make It Better.”

And while .Paak does a good job of emulating their style — which might make this record really enjoyable for hardcore fans of that old school R&B sound — he also adds nothing new. There’s none of that influence from Dr. Dre that we heard on “Oxnard,” leading “Ventura” to sound only like a copy and paste job.

It ultimately makes the album incredibly forgettable.

The only stand-out track to me personally is the closer — which, ironically, feels more like the opener — “What Can We Do?” which features a really good vocal performance from Nate Dogg. Still, though, the track doesn’t save everything.

Ultimately, “Ventura” is a fine but forgettable record. I’m sincerely hoping .Paak spends a little bit more time on his next record, so that he can hit the heights he did on “Oxnard.”

Anderson .Paak released his fourth record, ‘Ventura,’ on April 12.
https://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Anderson.Paak_Ventura.jpg.optimal.jpgAnderson .Paak released his fourth record, ‘Ventura,’ on April 12.

By Patrick Kernan

pkernan@timesleader.com

Album: ‘Ventura’

Artist: Anderson .Paak

Label: Aftermath, 12Tone

Length: 39:36

Best Track: ‘What Can We Do?’

Worst Track: ‘Come Home’

Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan