I'd like to "grown" how? How more distinctive? Tone? Phrasing? Not hearing much of that here?
Me, I'm like, he's still Pepper-redux, even if "evolved" . But Post-Pepper, you got Cuber in one lane, Bluiett in another, and Cecil Payne still holding down that one. Plus Pat Patrick. They're all dead now. Do those lanes need filling? No? New lanes, maybe? Yes?
So...the Pepper Placeholder chair, important for the business, sure. But for the music itself? I remain unconvinced. But certainly there are those who like it, and for them, there it is