Dijon Baby
Dijon's Baby arrives as a vivid, intimate collision of domestic life and experimental R&B, earning critical praise for its daring production and emotional candor. Across five professional reviews, critics awarded the record an 88/100 consensus score, noting that the album turns scenes of fatherhood, home life and isolation into textured pop songwriting and sonic collage. The quick verdict from the critical consensus suggests Baby is not only good but essential for listeners attuned to adventurous, personal records.
Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks when answering what the best songs on Baby are. HIGHER! emerges repeatedly as the album's centerpiece for its elastic, time-bending rhythm, while FIRE! earns praise for overdriven frequencies and visceral punch. Critics also highlight Automatic, Kindalove and the intimate pair around my man as moments where domestic intimacy and pop craft cohere. Across reviews from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Paste, NME and Clash, the dominant themes are deconstruction, fatherhood and sonic experimentation; reviewers note vocal manipulation, collage-like arrangements and 80s/90s nostalgia threaded through tracks that balance vulnerability and invention.
While critics largely celebrate the record's adventurousness and emotional breadth, some remarks temper the praise by pointing to the album's deliberate fragmentation - its collage approach can feel jagged rather than seamless. That tension is part of the appeal: Baby positions Dijon as an artist reshaping parenthood and domestic bliss into daring, at times disorienting songcraft. For readers wondering whether Baby is worth listening to, the professional reviews and high consensus score indicate a record that rewards close attention and repeatedly yields standout songs.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
my man
2 mentions
"the lower-case, acidic ballad "my man" lands among Dijon’s most awakened efforts"— Paste Magazine
HIGHER!
4 mentions
"the glitchy, chopped-up gospel circuitry in "HIGHER!""— Paste Magazine
Kindalove
3 mentions
"His best song, the smooth and rattling “Kindalove,” is four or five songs at once"— Paste Magazine
the lower-case, acidic ballad "my man" lands among Dijon’s most awakened efforts
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Baby!
Another Baby!
HIGHER!
(Freak It)
Yamaha
FIRE!
(Referee)
Rewind
my man
loyal & marie
Automatic
Kindalove
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 5 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Looking for the best tracks on Baby, Dijon’s Kindalove stands out as the album’s best song for its multi-faceted songwriting and adventurous production. Other best songs on Baby include Automatic and Yamaha for their emotional heft and textured vocals. The review highlights high points like FIRE!, my man, and HIGHER! as examples of Dijon’s experimental R&B and domestic intimacy. Overall, the best songs on Baby showcase Dijon’s blend of nostalgia, sonic collage, and undeniable pop songwriting prowess.
Key Points
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Kindalove is the standout because it compresses multiple song forms into one triumphant piece.
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The album’s core strengths are its intimate domestic themes and adventurous, collage-like experimental R&B production.
Themes
Critic's Take
The best songs on Baby are the ones that foreground Dijon’s collage-like production and warped grooves, notably “HIGHER!” and “FIRE!” which showcase the album’s jagged R&B experimentation. Listeners searching for the best tracks on Baby will find “HIGHER!” notable for its elastic, time-bending rhythm and “FIRE!” for its overdriven frequencies and visceral impact. These songs illustrate Dijon’s surrealist, collagist approach that makes the best songs on Baby sound like fractured domestic scenes turned into bold musical statements.
Key Points
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“HIGHER!” is best for its elastic, time-bending rhythm that exemplifies Dijon’s collage approach.
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The album’s core strengths are its bold sonic deconstruction and surreal, domestic lyrical fragments.
Themes
Critic's Take
The best songs on Baby are its opening triumvirate—"Baby!", "Another Baby!" and "HIGHER!"—which announce Dijon’s roaring, emotive sensibility and celebrate fatherhood. "Yamaha" and "FIRE!" stand out for their evocative production and vulnerable lyrics, making them among the best tracks on Baby. "Kindalove" functions as the album’s thesis, summing its experimental R&B approach and emotional core. These tracks showcase why Baby’s strongest moments balance intimate songwriting with adventurous production.
Key Points
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"Another Baby!" is the best song because it most directly and exuberantly articulates the album’s fatherhood theme.
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The album’s core strengths are intimate songwriting and experimental production that fuse domestic themes with adventurous sound design.
Themes
Critic's Take
Best songs on Baby include “Automatic,” the album standout praised for its mix of muddy bass and euphoric synths, and opener “Baby!” for its sensual, shape-shifting production. Another highlight is “Another Baby!” with its infectious ’80s-tinged funk and restless layering. These best tracks on Baby showcase Dijon’s balance of pop songwriting and adventurous, experimental production while exploring parenthood and emotional swings.
Key Points
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“Automatic” is best for its striking contrast between muddy bass and euphoric synths, labeled an album standout.
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The album’s core strength is balancing solid pop songwriting with adventurous, experimental production centered on themes of parenthood and emotional swings.
Themes
Critic's Take
Best songs on Baby include “HIGHER!”, “FIRE!” and the paired emotional center “my man” / “loyal & marie”. Dijon’s Baby showcases his best tracks through adventurous production and intimate songwriting, with HIGHER! singled out as excellent and FIRE! praised for its thrilling 180-degree inventiveness. The album’s storytelling ties tracks like Rewind and Kindalove into a cohesive sequence that highlights the strongest moments. For listeners searching for the best tracks on Baby, start with HIGHER!, FIRE! and the my man / loyal & marie duo.
Key Points
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HIGHER! is best for its detailed, auteur-level sonic work.
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The album’s core strengths are daring production and cohesive emotional storytelling.