The-Dream Releases Surprise Visual Album On Tidal

Frankly, I’m not sure what to call this artsy thing the R&B singer/songwriter/producer The-Dream has unleashed upon us. It’s not quite a visual album in the same sense as Beyonce’s self-titled offering, which had an accompanying video for every song. It’s not quite a short film scored in the traditional sense, because there are clearly 10 segmented tracks, cohesive in mood but disparate sonically. It’s more like an epically abstract music video with exquisitely composed shots that linger much longer than the standard song-length flick. Anyway, he calls it Genesis, and it’s well worth taking a look if you have a Tidal subscription.

The 42-minute clip is haunting, with dark, somber religious images of figures stalking desecrated church grounds. It’s reminiscent of Pusha T’s “M.F.T.R.” video, which also features The-Dream. The soundtrack is possibly The-Dream’s most adventurous and versatile work to date, mixing shades of classical film scores, electronic music, R&B, and ambient vibes. The description reads: “The Dream explores variations of his random dreams represented as symbols, the face of his soul, and the conflict within himself.”

Genesis is out now exclusively on Tidal.