VIII

Fifteen years since he debuted, Avant delivers his eighth album. It affirms that he's an industry survivor. He arrived during an era when most R&B artists who received media attention were retro-minded, dirty-minded, or pop-oriented. Apart from a diversion here and there -- "Break Ya Back" for instance -- Avant never fell squarely into one of those designations. He continued to release new albums every couple years without alienating his fan base, as his voice gradually became richer, and while freshening his approach with new collaborators. That continues with The VIII, almost all of which was made with Travis Sayles, a keyboardist, songwriter, and producer who previously worked on a wide range of recordings by the likes of Meek Mill, Derrick Hodge, and Ariana Grande. Though this is as sonically consistent as any previous Avant album -- mostly silky, with a little grit here and there -- the subject matter fluctuates in the extreme. For instance, a tale about a platonic relationshi