With compressed snare hits and washy synths, the record “King of Hearts” by rapper Camu Tao presents the listener with a half-baked recording that doesn’t feel complete.

In concept, the songs have great potential. The title track, “King of Hearts,” is reminiscent of early Bloc Party and is catchy enough with an upbeat rhythm part and spirited keyboard parts that, unlike the rest of the record, are distinctive.

The rest of the tracks are presented in a distractingly sloppy form. The amateur sounding recording is paired with scratchy and indiscernible vocals and
instrumentals that seem to have been written hastily and with little diversity between songs. “Fonny Valentine” is obnoxious in its stumbling progression, and the vocals are out of key.

This album is an example of the more pop-influenced side of hip-hop and rap. With better production and more attention to detail, this record might not have fallen short.