Music Review: Usher "Climax"

Usher

Climax

Album: Looking 4 Myself

Year: 2012

        An argument fractures a rocky  relationship in the gangling  “Climax.”

         Jumpy synths beep, echoing a tense silence, setting an uncertain tone. The chorus begins the single.  He rubs his eyes with his fingers, wondering what to tell the kids. For nearly a year, he and his girlfriend have had a varation of the same argument: she thinks he’s cheating. It had started when he was talking to a woman he met while hanging out with a couple of his friends. They bonded over their love of basketball. Soon, they were texting and calling all the time, which caught his girlfriend’s attention. She asked him to stop talking to her. He told her nothing was going on. After much insistence from his girlfriend, he stopped returning her texts. However, his girlfriend began calling all his behavior into question. If he didn’t call her right away, he would get grilled. Today, though, he was late coming home from work. She asked him where he was. He responded work. She grabbed his phone, which he immediately took back. She keeps insisting he’s still hanging out with her. He refuses to show her his phone and yells he’ll be out by the weekend. He stares at his phone, the emails from work still on it, and thinks he should apologize. But it won’t do anything. They are breaking up. (“Going nowhere fast, we've reached our climax/We're together, now we're undone/Won't commit so we choose to run/Away, do we separate, oh/Don't wanna give in so we both gave up/Can't take it back, it’s too late/We've reached our climax/Climax.”)

          After he said he was moving out, she took her keys and said she’d be gone for a while.  He cares about her and leaving isn’t something he’s prepared to do.  He may have been angry with her a few minutes ago but she’s still the person he wants to turn to when he’s upset.  She likes to drive out to the beach and take a walk to calm herself down. He isn’t sure how to prove to her he’s been faithful. (“I've fallen somehow, feet off the ground/Love is the cloud, that keeps raining down/Where are you now, when I need you around/I'm on my knees but it seems we're.”)

         The chorus is sung again.

          He has done everything she asked: offering up his cell phone to check, looking at receipts, etc.  Although trust is a major problem, arguments will pop up about parenting, working overtime, where to go to eat. On their first date, they made love and for several years, they had a healthy sex life.  She gave birth to their two kids.  Somehow, they became roommates and stopped being lovers.  There is really nothing to hang onto anymore but he still would like to be with her.  (“I gave my best, it wasn't enough/You keep saying we argue too much/We made a mess of what used to be lust/So why do I care, I care at all, at all, at all, at all.”)

         The chorus is sung again.

       In the bridge, he hears her car come up the drive and he lets out a sigh of relief. When she walks inside their home, he’s notices her eyes are red and puffy from crying. He comes over to hug her, however, she puts his hands on his chest and says she’s can’t.  She can’t have the same argument with him every week.  They can work out the living situation and joint custody isn’t a problem. They would be much better off as friends. He rests his head on her shoulder and kisses her neck, taking in the scent of her hair. He remembers the many nights they spent laughing and then having sex. Later, it was watching their children try to imitate their mannerisms and reading them a bedtime story. He wants those days back. (“You said, its better if we/Love each other separately/I just need you one more time/I can't get what we had off my mind/Where are you now, when I need you around/I'm on my knees but it seems we're.”)

         The chorus is sung again to close the single.

    Usher’s flustered, stricken vocals are stung, the venom of her words seeping into him. A warm smile or cooking her favorite dinner won’t change her mind. Usually, Usher’s vocals are spot on and emotive. However, the shrill falsetto and downbeat alto ping pong back and forth with neither vocal style a clear winner.

         The jerky “Climax” is off, lacking the basic requirements of an efficient pop song.