The Trinity Saikyou Ban

Sean Paul took the pop world by storm in 2003 with the release of the dancehall pop smash Dutty Rock, placing songs at the top of the charts, videos in heavy rotation, and his face all over the place. He took his time releasing the follow-up, 2005's Trinity, and rather than going even further pop, Paul heads toward a harder, more aggressive sound. The songs sound tailored for dancefloors with little concern for pop airplay and little concern for melody or hooks. This approach works for a song or two, but sooner rather than later the record begins to wear on the listener. Don't bother waiting for a song that isn't hyper-sexualized, tough, and semi-raw or a song that has some of the lightness and space of "Bubble," "Gimme the Light," or "I'm Still in Love with You," because you won't find it. Some of this may come from the shift in producers from big names with poppier backgrounds like Sly & Robbie, the Neptunes, and Steely & Clevie to lesser-knowns like Delano Thomas, Michael Jarrett, Craig Parks, and Donovan "Vendetta" Bennett who don't have much originality in their work. Each song relies on standard synth sounds and straightforward beats and there are precious few surprises on the record, sound-wise. Even Steven "Lenky" Marsden, the undisputed star producer on Dutty Rock, fails to do much with his songs on Trinity.