The non committal fuck boy is an archetype of modern dating. Jared Leonardo Lee, aka DUCKWRTH, is one such ‘toxic romantic’, All American Fuckboy his attempt to shed light on the pitfalls and hang ups that underpin such a man.
The album foregrounds the concept. We get chapter announcements, monologues from film star LaKeith Stanfield, even a grating “fin” to close off the project. It’s a narrative with a predetermined destination. The habits of the fuck boy predictably do not pan out too well for our protagonist or his relationships.
Musically there’s no denying DUCKWRTH’s willingness to try his hand at a range of different styles. We get the psych-tinged neo soul of ‘Perfect Vacation’, punkish snarl on the outro of ’LA Traffic’. A distinct personality struggles to shine through however; sonics that are nice enough but uninspired, songwriting that is competent but unspectacular.
Would-be fuck boy clarion call ‘Toxic Romantic’ fails to match its anthemic aspirations, while ‘Fell Off The Earth‘ is a real low point, sickly sentiments and saccharine melodies that could make Chris Martin gag.
The album finds its surest footing in the more languid grooves. ‘Ken Doll’ is a plush tune that sounds like sinking into bad habits. ‘June 1st’ is obviously intended as a brief snapshot but is one of the stronger tracks. It starts off sounding like a voice note from D’Angelo then segues into a confessional guitar-led rap, ending with pianos smudged by memory.
Yet by and large, neither music nor narrative really leaves too great an impact. Stanfield gives us this to ponder on: “I know you’re feeling like this is a sad story. Not your typical guy gets girl, huh? Honestly it was doomed from the beginning. But, there is an upside, our main character finds out why he couldn’t truly love her. It’s cause he didn’t love himself. But he learns what love actually looks like. So is this the end of this story or the beginning of a new one?”
He tells us that’s for us to decide. But do such banal forgone conclusions compel us to do so? This endnote sounds like you asked AI to sum up the conundrums of dating as a fuck boy. A story having familiar beats is not an inherent problem, but the revelations need to be there in the details. More often than not, on All American Fuckboy we’re left lacking.
