FUSE TV - Drake's 'Views' Album: Instant Track-by-Track Analysis

Drake's 20-song, 82-minute Views finally premiered on Thursday night (April 28), and you know we were right there with Apple Music blasting, running through the 6 with Aubrey D. Graham all over again. And you also know we've got our instant track-by-track analysis ready for you. As with our track-by-track for Beyoncé's Lemonade, consider this a premature evaluation—an avid, loving and critical one—and a heads-up for what to expect as you begin spending time with Drake's Views in your life.

1. “Keep the Family Close"
"It's a little chilly out there," a female voice chatters at the blustery beginning of this Toronto-themed, season-inspired album. (Said Drake, to Zane Lowe on Beats 1 in the intimate pre-premiere interview.) Then the man of the hour shows up to croon like Frank Sinatra Has a Cold–era Sinatra doing a smoky soundcheck with an orchestra that's maybe been sipping lean with Future:

"All of my 'let's just be friends' are friends I don't have anymore / How do you not check on me when things go wrong? / Guess I should've tried to keep my family closer / Much closer."

The swooning instrumentation hits some big punches to get the blood pumping, but this is very much an "Over My Dead Body"–style melodic invocation—with a little bit of "Tuscan Leather" chipmunk soul sprinkled around at the end. –Zach Dionne

2. “9”
After the dramatic, soul-baring opening of “Keep the Family Close,” Drake ratchets up the intensity on “9,” a buzzing, insular track about the lack of peace in his current life. Drake has used the second track on albums as a bridge from the intro to the first major radio look (see: “Shot for Me,” “Furthest Thing”), and “9” seems to serve the same function. –Jason Lipshutz