Album Review: Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever!
3 min read
Whatever’s Clever! marks Charlie Puth’s long-awaited new record, anchored by a laid-back, soothing core tone. It seamlessly blends yacht rock, 1980s–90s pop/R&B and soft rock, carrying forward his signature delicate songwriting. Through diverse collaborations and refined production, the album delivers a polished work brimming with vintage texture and emotional depth.
The full tracklist features twelve songs in total, six of which are official featured collaborations – standing as one of the album’s defining strengths. Co-produced with Blood Pop, the record boasts crisp, uncluttered arrangements. Vintage synthesisers, mellow jazz guitar and fluid basslines, accented by Kenny G’s iconic saxophone, faithfully recreate the late 1970s to early 1980s American soft rock soundscape. Free from excessive embellishment, every melody exudes warmth and softness, paired with Puth’s clear vocal tone and gentle breathy delivery, evoking the easy comfort of a summer evening breeze.
Stylistically, Charlie Puth has shed his former sharp edge, turning his focus firmly to everyday life. The album documents his emotional shift since becoming a father, shifting his creative ethos from “melody first” to “life first”. Infused with intimate life reflections, the record avoids dramatic emotional tension, instead embracing a quiet love for life and gentle self-reconciliation, fully embodying his philosophy that life takes precedence over music.
Standout tracks each hold their own distinct character, perfectly aligned with the record’s cohesive mood. Changes rests upon a mellow retro R&B foundation, narrating personal growth and transformation in life’s new chapter. Cry features Kenny G, where lyrical saxophone melodies intertwine with Puth’s vocals to create deeply comforting, therapeutic warmth. A cross-cultural duet with Hikaru Utada, Home delivers a bilingual reflection on the meaning of belonging, weaving together Eastern and Western artistic sensibilities with distinctive charm. Love In Exile unites legendary artists including Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, capturing authentic yacht rock grandeur as a heartfelt tribute to classic sounds and deepening the album’s rich retro heritage.
As a non-featured cut, Don’t Meet Your Heroes brings a bright, dance‑infused rhythm that lifts the record’s steady vintage atmosphere with vivid vitality. The remaining six collaborative tracks – spanning cross‑cultural partnerships with Utada Hikaru and timeless team‑ups with icons such as Michael McDonald – greatly broaden the album’s sonic layers. They preserve timeless retro allure whilst preventing a narrow, one‑dimensional style.
Rather than chasing deliberate stylistic reinvention, Whatever’s Clever! perfects its own well‑honed sonic comfort zone. Stripped of flashy production and ostentatious vocal displays, it relies on sleek melodies and sincere expression to offer listeners a warm, calming listening journey. A mature milestone in Charlie Puth’s discography, this refined retro pop album is endlessly replayable and emotionally soothing for everyday moments.
Grace is a London-based writer and a listener who blurs the lines between genres to find the resonance between sound and emotion. To Grace, experiencing an album is a sensory ritual – much like the first sip of a proper cup of tea. With a keen ear for fleeting details and the invisible threads that connect melody to feeling, she seeks the honesty behind every song, turning the listening experience into a shared emotional journey.
