Charlie Puth Voicenotes

Charlie Puth went from YouTube likes to RIAA certifications with such swiftness that he caught a serious case of stardom bends. He had most of the symptoms, including a hastened, compromised debut album, resultant awkward performances, and a bad reaction to the public eye. While Voicenotes can be loosely classified as a fame-response album -- a category distinguished by works that are woeful in character and quality -- it counteracts Puth's artistic frustrations and in every aspect surpasses Nine Track Mind. Rarely is it overblown and stagey, with Puth generally sounding more at ease, and absolutely invested in the songs. The negative impact celebrity has had on him is addressed directly only in the breezy opener "The Way I Am," where he concedes that he's "just tryin' to find a place to hide," and the twentysomething alludes to it in petulant form only in the closing ("I've been") "Through It All." The set's crux is a series of failed relationships that leap from one disparate experie