On 25 January 2023, Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar sparked speculation of a new album on his official Instagram account. At the end of a reel captioned “Are you ready?”, the numbers “001” and “023” have been subject to fan scrutiny in the comments, with debates about the numbers alluding to an album’s release year.
His last official music video, where he served as the lead, dates back three years ago to ‘Cyanide: Remix’, followed up by two years of no music video activity punctuated by lyric videos on YouTube. The 27-year-old R&B star has hinted at a full-blow comeback with yet another lyric video titled ‘Do You Like Me’.
‘Do You Like Me’ is a plaintive ballad layered over minimalist instruments of rumbling bass strings and light guitar strums. Caesar has done some of his finest work over similar sounds, such as the Grammy-winning ‘Best Part’ duet with H.E.R.; however, his delivery leaves a lot to be desired, with the song being hollow because of too many empty spaces. His lyricism, in addition, is void of the fullness and soul from memorable performances like ‘Get You’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Peaches’.
The first steps of the song are sure and direct, with the singer asking: “Do you like the way I talk to you? / Do I titillate your mind? / Gotta say I like your attitude / And I love to make you mine.” And even as he goes on to admit that he’s “low on time”, there’s a sincerity in his approach, typical of Caesar’s sensitive side and gentleness which set Freudian (2017) apart from other much more brash and devil-may-care R&B releases of its time.
However, the cracks begin to show after that.
The undoing of ‘Do You Like Me’ builds up as the vocalist continuously questions, downplays, and shames himself. The self-doubt (“Worst case scenario / I get played, but hey, this ain’t my first rodeo / I hate that I’m so jaded”) accumulates like an abscess over the promising start until it becomes a pain to listen. The pain ends up so sharp that one ends up forgetting what an agreeable and considerate man Daniel presented himself as at the beginning. The badgering tone (“Know I like you babe / I hope you like me”) gives those Facebook DM vibes of guys who know they got the lady’s attention but can’t seem to either take a hint or wait long enough for unforced reciprocation.
From there, the cracks widen and descend all the way down to Hell.
In the lyrics, he admits that “At first, I was fucking your friend / But, I wanted you”, followed up with an “I guess that depends” from self-questioning. The song’s gradual divergence from a thoughtful and polite tone betrays the promise presented in the first few lines of the song. The retrogression in “Do You Like Me” sees the typical nice-guy trope play out in real time. And in this case, it raises an eyebrow more than it mesmerizes to witness.
Do You Like Me’ is a disjointed work that changes course too unexpectedly, and the shift is so immediate that it jolts the mind. Change is everything in music. If anything, a sense of positive progression makes anything worth an ear. But in Do You Like Me’, the turn is too inconsistent. Put next to the jaded delivery, the song lacks the warmth and passion that would otherwise make any suitor a standout choice to pick for a romantic escapade.
Watch the official lyric video:
