OVO Signees dvsn’s “Try / Effortless” Is Undeniable R&B

When dvsn‘s first single, a slow-motion R&B opus titled “The Line,” surfaced last November, details were scarce. Now, after the release of three other tracks and, this past weekend, debut LP Sept. 5 in its entirety, dvsn’s M.O. is less mysterious, but no less stunning. Pronounced “division” and signed to Drake’s OVO Sound, the project unites producer Paul Jefferies—aka Nineteen85, aka the low-profile minimalist involved in his boss’s quiet chart stormers “Hotline Bling” and “Hold On, We’re Going Home”—with a sultry-voiced Toronto singer named Daniel Daley. Their songs tend to involve brazenly direct lyrics of a romantic or sexual nature, loose song structures recorded in a “documentary” style that conveys a sense of studio intimacy, and, beneath it all, a deep feel for pop expressiveness.

“Try / Effortless,” from Sept. 5, neatly ties up the qualities dvsn have already shown in abundance. Into a world of “No Type,” Daley insists, “I don’t have a type/ If I did it would be you.” It’s the kind of sweet-but-he-knows-it line that a clever recipient might want to double-check for sincerity—”you make me feel some kind of way babe,” yeah yeah, what else ya got?

But the sparse backdrop of moody pulses, restrained percussion, lonesome horn, and pitch-tweaked vocal accents serves as the musical equivalent of those big eyes you can’t help believing. Daley’s falsetto-scaling hook is the clincher: He claims “you’re the first to make me… try,” and it’s too late to question him. True to dvsn form, the music veers off nonchalantly for an “Effortless” consummation. dvsn don’t have a type, but if they did it would be this exquisitely shadowy pop-R&B song.

Listen to “Try / Effortless” on Apple Music.

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