Case Study 01 (2019)

Case Study 01 (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Daniel Caesar, released on June 28, 2019, through Golden Child Recordings. It features guest appearances from Brandy, Pharrell Williams, John Mayer, Sean Leon and Jacob Collier.

Promotion

Caesar held a listening party in Los Angeles in the week leading up to the album's release. Along with invited music industry figures, the event was also open to the first 200 guests that arrived. Caesar also teased the album on social media, including with a video of a person walking across a desert set to a "muted keyboard melody" and a quote from scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Critical reception

Jacob Carey of Exclaim! noted the "experimental nature" of the album, concluding: "Although Case Study 01 may not receive the same critical reception as Freudian, it's a solid effort by an artist who is, more or less, still a rookie, attempting to diversify his sound early on in order to avoid cementing himself into gospel music for the entirety of his career." Aaron Williams of Uproxx stated: "Even with Caesar's newfound physicality, Case Study 01 is still a thoughtful, beautiful-sounding album. If nothing else, it proves he's still a smart, intriguing songwriter who could wring twice as much romance out of a couplet as any of his contemporaries. But there's also a sense that maybe he's trying a little too hard here as well."

The album was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Daniel Caesar's Instagram.