Brown's lead vocal loses any semblance of meaning it had before - "Waves don't die!" - and becomes unintelligible, pure emotional goo. It's more dramatic, maybe even a little more pained its movement is more sudden. Everything's knocked off-kilter, and that wonky choral loop that sounds so inspiring in the song's standard form totally transforms. Why is this so compelling? I've spent the last half-hour trying to figure it out. My skepticism washed away like flotsam being lifted from a quiet beach by a rising tide. Noisey shared amateur producer Justin Lombardi's flip of the song this morning, and I clicked "play" with an eyebrow raised. Now that we've established my preexisting enthusiasm for "Waves," I'm going to hit you with a mind-blowing revelation: it's even better backwards. (It's crazy to think it wouldn't have made the album without the timely intervention of Chance the Rapper. It's something like a love song on an album that could use a few more of them, and it's one of the best songs I've heard so far this year. Brown turns in the best vocal performance he's ever given, and the warped chorus in the background radiates heat and light. I'm out of my honeymoon phase with the album, and I still stand by that opinion.
When I reviewed Kanye West's new album The Life of Pablo last week, I wrote that the Chris Brown feature "Waves" might be the most beautiful song he's ever made.
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