Album review: Summer Walker still succeeds on ‘Still Over It’

Joey Perkins
Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:38:08 +0000
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Singer and songwriter Summer Walker, released her newest album, “Still Over It,” Friday. A follow-up to the Atlanta native’s 2019 album, “Over It,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts. Credit: Courtesy of Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Summer Walker/TNS

Singer and songwriter Summer Walker released her newest album, “Still Over It,” Friday. The project serves as a follow-up to the Atlanta native’s critically acclaimed 2019 album, “Over It,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts.

“Over It” garnered plenty of attention at the time of its release, but the anticipation for “Still Over It” was even greater. At this time, “Still Over It” is projected to debut at No. 1 on the charts and sell between 185,000 and 210,000 units in its first week, according to a tweet from Chart Data that was reposted on Walker’s Instagram account. These numbers are not unwarranted — “Still Over It” is yet another brilliant project from Walker.

Containing 20 songs and sitting at just over an hour, “Still Over It” is a story of love and heartbreak, largely targeted at producer London on da Track, who is also Walker’s ex-boyfriend and father of her child. This is heavily implied within the project, as Walker references their child, his connection with Young Thug and much more.

“Still Over It” starts off with the bold track “Bitter,” which sets the tone for the whole project. The song features somber, nonchalant instrumentals with attention-grabbing vocals from Walker. This track, like many that follow, touches on the hardships she went through during her relationship.

“No Love (with SZA)” is another promising performance from Walker. SZA, however, undoubtedly steals the show. Her demanding, confident verse is one of the highlights of the entire album.

This project starts and finishes strong. The issue, however, like many albums with a large collection of tracks, is that there are several songs that seem like fillers, especially considering the project centers around just one main theme.

Tracks such as the lead single, “Ex For A Reason (with JT from City Girls),” and “Unloyal (with Ari Lennox),” are sonically appealing, but lack new or unique themes that positively contribute to the project. These tracks still focus on the theme of heartbreak and relationship woes, but there seems to be no emphasis on making them stand out from the rest of the bunch.

Despite several duds, the highlights of the album are plentiful. “Reciprocate” is a slower track with one of Walker’s most melodic performances on the project. “You Don’t Know Me” is reminiscent of “Off Of You” from Walker’s previous project — an acoustic guitar accompanies crisp, airy vocals, making it one of the most complete and beautiful performances on the project.

“Toxic (with Lil Durk)” starts off strong with an impressive performance from Walker, but Lil Durk seems entirely out of place on the track. His contribution, while within the theme of the album, fails to spark anything unique. His subpar performance unfortunately drags the song down.

However, the album picks right back up with “Dat Right There (with Pharrell Williams & The Neptunes).” This track offers a slight change of pace through an upbeat, joyful vibe, with vocals and instrumentation working in tandem. Walker sounds confident, and Williams’ small contribution goes a long way. The album continues with the tranquil song “Screwin (with Omarion).” The drowned-out instrumental lets Walker’s vocals stand out on the track, and Omarion’s verse sends the song off in style.

“Session 33” is another slow, quiet song that features Walker in a clearly vulnerable state. Although melancholic and gloomy, this track is one of the strongest and most thematically revealing songs on the entire project. To no surprise, the following few tracks close out the album passionately, seemingly closing out a certain chapter in her life.

“Still Over It,” although not without flaws and low points, is raw, personal and transparent. Walker proves yet again that she can make quality, relatable music while staying true to herself. This album serves not only as a great follow-up to “Over It,” but as an excellent stand-alone project that will likely stay in listener rotations for a long, long time.

Rating: 4/5