Consumer Guide Album

The-Dream: Love/Hate [Def Jam, 2007]
For "Umbrella" fans only--all you stick-in-the-muds, go suck an egg. Out of his extended-syllable trick, dollops of falsetto, male backups going hey and stuff, and the good nature of someone who figures there's no point being mean when you're lucky, the guy who wrote "Umbrella" fashions an utterly slight, utterly captivating R&B album. True, he pursues other's girls, leaves one shawty because she's not quick enough on the get-down, and moves on to the speedier, needier Nikki when another doesn't immediately accept his tender offer. But mostly he just enjoys himself in bed and makes pop in the studio. In "Luv Songs," he does both simultaneously. A-