In some ways, World Music Radio feels like a natural step forward for Jon Batiste. After ending his tenure as music director and bandleader of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last year, he became the first Black artist to win Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammys for his album We Are, which didn’t get reviewed enough to even get its own Metacritic profile yet beat out records by Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift. World Music Radio clearly expands on that album’s gleeful positivity, capitalizing on its success by bringing in a wider pool of collaborators. On the other hand, Batiste, who has been releasing albums since he was 17, seems wary of being defined by the retro-soul sound he explored on his most celebrated LP, even if it was still rooted in the intersection of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Reaching beyond what was already a wide-ranging sonic approach, his attempt to take an ambitious leap on World Music Radio is admirable, but it lacks the imagination and specificity that would render it a profound cultural statement.
If World Music Radio sounds like an obvious title for a concept album about universal music, the songs themselves do little to provide a more enticing and distinct character. The premise – an interstellar radio show hosted and curated by Billy Bob that broadcasts sounds from around the world – is predictably shallow and unoriginal, a framing device he could have a lot more fun with if he wasn’t as concerned with tying it all together. The styles explored on World Music Radio – from improvisational jazz to modern pop to reggaeton – are finely executed and impressively varied, but in ways so effortless and generic it forgets to remind us of music as a unique expression of our flawed humanity, no matter where it comes from. Instead of transcending genre barriers, the album more often scans as a reflection of an era where different sounds already co-exist in the US charts.
The album’s pop-minded focus and bland messaging don’t make for a great combination. A song that unites JID, Camilo, and NewJeans should be exciting enough on a musical level to excuse any lyrical shortcomings, but its corniness might actually dissuade listeners from finding out who the guest stars are – or forget they were here by the time this hour-long journey’s over. It’s no surprise that one of the album’s most intimate moments is also one of its biggest highlights: ‘My Heart’, a collaboration with Catalan singer Rita Payés, is a lovely torch song that proves you don’t have to shoot for the moon – or even tread unfamiliar territory – to make an impact. “I guess the moral of the story is… you know, you can feel it,” Batiste’s alter ego announces near the end of the album, but the feeling is constantly undermined by its own expansive scope.
Though it showcases his rich musical versatility, background, and vision, World Music Radio‘s clunky philosophical musings distract from the heart and soul Batiste has clearly poured into the project. It just barely offers a glimpse into his own personality or engages with his increased stature in any significant way. Though he doesn’t need to flirt with self-mythology the way Lana Del Rey, who guests on closer ‘Life Lesson’ and recruited him for this year’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, so often does, there’s a reason her songs have a strange, haunting resonance even this album’s more stately offerings merely hint at. Paying tribute to his heroes by sampling the likes of Duke Ellington, Wayne Shorter, and Quincy Jones, ‘MOVEMENT 18’ even has echoes of Del Rey’s ‘Judah Smith Interlude’, but it shares none of that track’s mysterious intimacy. Yet with imaginary listeners tuning out after ‘Goodbye, Billy Bob’, Batiste delivers some of his most earnest and affecting tunes at the very end of the album. It’s then, no longer bound by the concept of people connecting through music, that you can actually feel its power.
