At the heart of Daniel Caesar’s fourth album, Son of Spergy —the follow-up to 2023’s Never Enough — is faith and family.
Released Oct. 24 via Republic Records, the album opens in church with “Rain Down,” a spirit-stirring hymn where Caesar and Sampha trade leads, belting to the heavens, “Lord let your blessings rain down, on me.” The organ-led number, punctuated by soulful handclaps, features audio of his aunt from Jamaica. “That’s Spergy’s son,” she says with honor, as soft hums and steady claps underscore dialogue.
Spergy is the nickname of Caesar’s father, Norwill Simmonds, who is a primary source of inspiration for the album.“I have a lot of respect for my dad, and I hold him in high regard. The album is about me realizing that I am exactly like him,” Caesar said. “In that sense, it’s about having patience, respect, and admiration for myself.”
Recorded primarily in Jamaica, Son of Spergy features additional collaborations with Bon Iver, Blood Orange, and Yebba, 646yf4t (pronounced “babyfat”) and his father, who appears on “Baby Blue.” The nearly six-minute track sounds like a folksy lullaby Caesar sings to his future child. “You found me in a dark hole / But now I know, you’re my light,” he sings.
Much of Son of Spergy is contemplative. Despite its title, the album is essentially Caesar’s self-interrogation of the man he is and the man he aspires to become as his father’s son. “I was singing to myself about my dad, how I feel about him and reconciling a lot of those feelings,” he explained. “But I was doing that by myself, through myself, and for myself.”
Caesar’s inward gaze also extends outward toward legacy—specifically, a familial one. It’s felt in “Baby Blue” and even more in “Have A Baby (With Me).” The latter song, which incorporates a sample of reggae artist Sizzla’s “Woman I Need You,” feels somewhat urgent: “It’s too late for our dreams, we can make a new dream,” he suggests to a love interest. Part of this urgency to build a family seems to stem from Caesar turning 30 recently. “I think it’s finally ‘bout that time, a n—a nearly thirty / Find some soil to plant a seed / Lord find me someone worthy,” he sings in “Sign of the Times.”
Moments like “Root of All Evil” and “Who Knows” see Caesar at his most unflinching. In “Root of All Evil,” he confronts his shortcomings with raw honesty, singing, “Am I a man or a beast? Somebody please dissipate me / For I am a sinner.” In the acoustic-led “Who Knows,” Caesar wrestles with personal insecurity and apprehension about a relationship’s future. “I’ll probably be a waste of your time, but who knows? / Chances are I’ll step out of line, but who knows?” he sings monotonously, before closing with, “Maybe we get married one day, but who knows?”
The previously shared “Moon,” featuring indie folk band Bon Iver, is Caesar’s admission that he’s a work in progress: “I’m not who I want to be at the moment, maybe soon.” Part of becoming this version of himself is staying rooted in his faith, even when it is tested. “There’s a plan you won’t understand for now,” he assures himself in the gospel-tinged “Touching God,” which features vocal assistance from Yebba and Blood Orange.
The penultimate “No More Loving (On Women I Don’t Love),” with his younger brother 646yf4t, is another highlight on the album. Here, Caesar vows to pursue relationships with more intention. The tune is essentially a reprise of 646yf4t’s “Rhode2” from his debut EP, Growing Pains, that dropped over the summer.
Caesar closes Son of Spergy with “Sins Of The Father,” which also features Bon Iver. It feels like a full-circle moment, with Caesar returning to the pulpit alongside a choir consisting of Olivia Walker, Alana Linsey, Alayna Rodgers, Cameron Wright and Charles Henderson. Here, Caesar lays everything on the table, as he seeks to turn his resentment into reconciliation — and, in doing so, comes to accept that he’s become a lot like the man he once resented.
With this being his most intimate album yet, Son of Spergy feels like the onset of the alchemical transmutation he desired in the final track.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Stream Daniel Caesar’s new album Son of Spergybelow.