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\n\tThe Kid Laroi<\/a> was in a state of romantic bliss when he started his second studio album. \u201cAnd no words that I could say will ever explain the way I feel with you,\u201d he sings on \u201cI\u2019m So In Love With You,\u201d with the devotion of a man delivering unbreakable vows. It\u2019s the only song that survived the purge when the newly heartbroken 22-year-old singer scrapped the entire album he\u2019d been making, tentatively titled Watch This!<\/em> In its place, Laroi recorded Before I Forget<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen he announced this 15-track album in November, he told Variety<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that he spent three months recording it with \u201ca lot more direction\u201d (read: a fresh breakup). It\u2019s sadder and more emotional than the music he\u2019d initially recorded, he said, which included 2025 singles \u201cHow Does It Feel?\u201d<\/a> and \u201cShe Don\u2019t Need to Know.\u201d Those tracks, neither of which appear on this album, were rich with personality and charm \u2014 sides of Laroi that rarely get enough play. He needs moments like that to cut through the Bieber-isms that often loom over his artistic identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBefore I Forget <\/em>is largely devoid of the feeling that Laroi could really be bringing something special to pop. It\u2019s a melancholic record that succinctly captures his emotional turmoil in the present moment, but reveals little about what comes after his tears have dried \u2014 not just in love, but in his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThere are moments on Before I Forget <\/em>that make the case that counting Laroi out now would be a mistake. \u201cPrivate\u201d is luminous, <\/strong>a grooving alternative pop standout about navigating a relationship in the public eye. \u201cCould have worked it out, \u2019cause I know it was bad but it could have been worse somehow,\u201d he sings. \u201cAnd everything that we built we just watched them burn it down.\u201d Laroi steers the song with a commanding presence, bending the production to his dejected musings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe nostalgic R&B single \u201cA Perfect World\u201d is Laroi\u2019s most cutting account of the steady deterioration of a relationship and his hope for reconciliation. When he sings \u201cCan I just be straight up?\u201d at the start of the bridge, it\u2019s less of a genuine question and more of a warning that he\u2019s over talking around what\u2019s really bothering him. \u201cI don\u2019t wanna talk unless you really wanna say shit.\u201d That grit gives him an edge, something that says he isn\u2019t just going through the motions. To his credit, \u201cA Perfect World\u201d is one of the few Laroi singles that feels disinterested in being a hit. It\u2019s a song that\u2019s more about building the narrative of the album than his position in pop. That it benefits both is a bonus.<\/p>\n