Blame It On Baby

By DaBaby

If you’re familiar with DaBaby, you’ve no doubt heard people making jokes about how every song of his sounds the same. In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, DaBaby responded to fans voicing their disappointment in his lack of variety. Although he claimed that although he could compete with rappers like J. Cole if he chose to, he said it’s important to “milk the game” too. 

Personally, I enjoy music for the sake of music, not profit. It’s discouraging to see artists phone it in for a check, but there’s another side to that too. On “CAN’T STOP”, the characteristically in-your-face opener of Blame It On Baby, he remarks that his daughter “took care of forever off music”. On NBA YoungBoy assisted track “JUMP”, this topic is briefly revisited amidst the eccentric instrumental, with the line “My lil’ daughter two, but got six figures put up”. 

All things considered, Baby’s mindset at the moment regarding his craft seems less focused on creativity and more focused on providing for himself and his family, which is something just as important as pushing creative boundaries, even if it doesn’t necessarily make for good music. 

When Kirk was released last year, I was disappointed with DaBaby’s lack of creative development and the record’s general monotony. I’m glad to report that DaBaby has managed to make some progress in this regard, as the production and vocal delivery on this record has much more variety. 

Some beats are stereotypical DaBaby, while some feel fresh and intriguing, like that of the record’s title track “BLAME IT ON BABY”. DaBaby’s rapid-fire bars are consistent as ever, and he experiments more with singing and other vocalizations than ever before, with tracks like “FIND MY WAY”, “CHAMPION”, and “ROCKSTAR” focusing more on singing and crooning, the latter of which is almost guaranteed to be a hit given the Roddy Ricch feature and memorable hook. 

The bad news is that these exercises in growth don’t always work for DaBaby. On “SAD SH*T”, for example, Baby’s sung vocals are definitely on the weaker end of the spectrum. Aside from growing pains, Baby still struggles to reach the hit-making zenith he reached last year upon the release of “Suge”, with many of the songs on the record failing to stand out. 

What’s even more concerning here is that the tracks with big-name rappers like Quavo, Future, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie are all incredibly underwhelming. Having these names not only gives the tracks massive potential for exposure but also makes it much easier for them to stand out – yet for some reason, they feel like they had even less effort put into them than their solo counterparts. Missteps like this leave me worried for DaBaby’s future and longevity as an artist. 

There are plenty of ups and downs to this record. I think it’s been getting a lot more hate than it deserves, but to the critics’ credit, many of the steps taken on this record feel too little, too late. DaBaby’s next move better be a big one if he wants to maintain his status in the rap world. 

I give Blame It On Baby by DaBaby a 2.5 out of 5

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

By Fiona Apple

If you follow any music publication, you’ve probably heard of this record already. Fetch The Bolt Cutters is Fiona Apple’s fifth studio record, released 8 years after her last record The Idler Wheel… Upon release, it received universal acclaim from critics for its unique approach to instrumentation and raw, evocative lyrics that cover subjects of betrayal, womanhood, love, and life, amongst other things. Pitchfork, one of today’s most influential online music publications, gave it a 10/10. Clearly, there must be something special about this record. 

Before I dive too deeply into this, it’s important to acknowledge something. A lot of the lyrical content in this record is deeply rooted in Apple’s perspective as a woman. In the past, I struggled with honestly reviewing records in this vein, such as FKA Twigs’ MAGDALENE because although I can do all the research, read into all the lyrics, and truly try to understand some of the themes in this record, the fact of the matter is some of this just isn’t meant for me, emotionally. And that’s okay, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate and analyze it, but it’s important to acknowledge that I’m not an authority on the concepts or experiences woven into many of the lyrics. 

The opening track “I Want You To Love Me” touches on more than just the desire to be loved. Aside from the hook, the track deals largely with existential ideas: time, growth, life, death, all vague concepts that tie us together as living beings. The idea that we all exist and that we all matter in our own ways, regardless of how far removed we may be from each other – a sort of unity in independence. And amidst all this, consistently returning, is our desire to be loved and accepted while we’re here. Musically, the track’s slowly rolling piano melodies are a perfect backdrop to Apple’s vocal performance – my only gripe is with the end of the track. A big point of this record is its improvisational and arguable experimental nature, with many eccentricities spread throughout the project. That’s not inherently bad, but in this case, I feel like the high-pitched yelping at the end just feels like a tacked-on afterthought. Luckily this is one of the few moments on the album where I feel that is the case. 

“Shameika” takes a journey back to Apple’s childhood, over a bustling piano instrumental that frames the story perfectly. Apple recalls being bullied relentlessly, yet still seeking attention from those that hurt her. One day, a girl named Shameika told her she “had potential” after seeing Apple fail to connect with other girls, in essence reminding her not to settle for those who don’t want her and to be herself. As the track continues, Apple revisits various moments from her life all tied together with the reminder Shameika gave her years ago as she grows into herself more and more. 

The album’s title track is immediately identifiable by its unique approach to percussion. Instead of using drums, Apple seems to have sought out anything she could make a beat on. The message of the track deals with removing negative things from your life, whether they’re pushed on you or self-imposed. According to Apple, the point is “fetch the fucking bolt cutters and get yourself out of the situation you’re in – whatever it is that you don’t like.” The plodding bass and sparse instrumentals continue to push listeners to focus on vocals, while still providing an interesting slice-of-life backdrop to Apple’s stream of consciousness, including the barking that fades in towards the end of the track. 

“Under The Table” recalls a fancy dinner that Apple was in no way excited for. In a Vulture article where she talks about the meaning behind all the songs on this record, Apple mentions that this was the kind of dinner where people brag about things she wouldn’t brag about, and make offensive comments that she wouldn’t abide. She calls a guy out for a comment, even though she’s seen as making a scene she knows she’s right and isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers by being herself. This anecdote extends across the whole track and is often found on other tracks as Fiona reiterates how unapologetic she is for being herself. 

The constant tension of “Relay” creates a driving, engrossing experience that’s hard to pull away from. The rhythmic repetition of the verses augments this trance-like state as Apple airs out anger and frustration tied to her assault at a young age and the way predators use their privilege to try and prevent any of the pain they sow from being cast back in their direction. This track uses Brett Kavanaugh as an example, describing his apparent mindset as “How could you be mad at me? Don’t make me suffer. But I’m married, but I have kids, so I can’t be a bad guy. But I was just young, don’t be so mean to me, that girl’s being mean to me.” From this, lines like “I resent you for being raised right” and for “being tall” are drawn, as these positive features and privileges are what men like Kavanaugh use in their defense. Another key concept in the lyrics is the idea of passing pain and trauma: “Evil is a relay sport, when the one who’s burned turns to pass the torch” is a much more artful way of the platitude “hurt people hurt people” and ties into the other side of the track’s message excellently. 

“Rack Of His” details facets of two of Apple’s relationships. In the first verse, Apple talks about unrequited affection, in which she was putting more effort into the relationship than her partner. The second verse contains the line “Check out that rack of his, look at that row of guitar necks”, referring to the way men tend to objectify women, but switching the roles. Towards the end of the verse, she veers from objectification to empathy as she finds herself in a similar position in her relationship, where both she and the guitars are tools to be used. 

The opening of “Newspaper” takes on a more unsettling, skeletal sound as Apple’s lyrics fade in. Apple touches on the perception of men in the context of relationships, and how many are seen with a sterling reputation while those they have hurt are the only ones who are truly aware of all the aspects of that man in reality. The track continues detailing how Fiona feels connected to those hurt by the same man who hurt her, even those who haven’t been hurt yet as she sees the cycle start anew, undoubtedly ending in another victim. The feverish percussion and meandering choral vocals interspersed throughout the song give it a haunting sense of gravity. 

“Ladies” is a softer cut with a message of “not letting men pit us against each other,” according to Apple. One of the real-life connections Apple uses to illustrate this is cheating, and how in the case of her grandmother, she was always mad at her husband’s mistress but never at her husband. Clearly the husband is the one who cheated, why not direct the anger at him? Why blame someone who got manipulated by the same person who manipulated you? 

Apple uses “Heavy Balloon” to explore depression, using various metaphors from the eponymous heavy balloon to the Saharan sun staring her down. As all these various pieces of imagery show how depression weighs us down and restricts us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Regardless, Apple remains determined to grow and spread and flourish, referenced in the line “I spread like strawberries, I climb like peas and beans”. 

“Cosmonauts” was originally written for Judd Apatow’s 2012 movie This Is 40, but it was ultimately not used, so Apple re-recorded it with altered vocals. Initially, the song was meant to be about two people together forever, but Apple struggled with this as she didn’t know if she was the kind of person to be with anyone forever. As Apple retooled the track, the lyrics became more and more about the decay monogamous relationships can face with time, and how partners can slowly grow to get on each other’s nerves and harbor resentment as exemplified by the hook “Now we’ll be like a couple of cosmonauts, Except with way more gravity than when we started off”. 

“For Her” is another track centered around women’s experiences with abuse, particularly a woman Fiona knew who was an intern at a film company, who was raped by her superior. The song starts by detailing the man himself, from his use of cocaine to his disregard for his wife, but also how he convinces his eventual victim that he’s there to protect her from the worst Hollywood has to offer. As the song goes on and slowly approaches the subject, Fiona comes out and says it: “Well good morning, good morning, you raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”. In the same Vulture piece previously mentioned, Apple wanted to stress the importance of saying the reality of the situation out loud and clearly, as women shouldn’t have to tiptoe around their experiences when expressing themselves and their emotions. 

“Drumset” takes the improvisational attitude of the record to its limits, as Fiona describes an incident in which a band member took her drumkit from Fiona’s house for another gig temporarily, but due to the emotional fallout from her recent breakup, Fiona mistook it as a sign that the drummer was mad at her. Apple picked up the phone and recorded herself singing her thoughts freely, and those exact words recorded in one take on her phone eventually became the lyrics of this song. The song blends these two experiences together lyrically, between her lingering feelings towards her ex and her feelings towards her bandmates in that brief moment. 

Finally, the aptly titled “On I Go” closes the record out with a repeated chant “On Igo not toward or away / up until now it was day, next day / up until now in a rush to prove / but now I only move to move.”Apple explained this chant was based on a chant she sang during a brief trip to jail for possession of hash, and how it ties into her life in the sense that she has reached a point where she lives to live, doing what she wants because she wants to. The one break from this chant is a brief passage that expands on this notion. She does these actions for the sake of doing them, and if she reaps benefits from it, that would be good, but that’s not the point. For an album so deep and multifaceted, this track is refreshingly straightforward to end on. 

Each song on this album has a lot of thought put into it conceptually, as I’ve already tried to illustrate in this unusually long review. But reading it doesn’t do it justice. Listening to it and opening up to the genuine and powerful lyrics is what makes this album truly special. The improvisational tone set here isn’t necessarily impressive in the technical sense, but it is in a more theatrical and conceptual one as it provides a surprisingly effective backdrop for Apple’s excellent writing. Although musically speaking it’s not necessarily my style, the amount of creativity and emotion on display can’t be ignored. 

I give Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple a 9/10

It Is What It Is

By Thundercat

Thundercat may not be the most frequently talked about musician out there, but don’t let that trick you into thinking he isn’t anything special. Starting out at age 15, Thundercat’s musical career has stretched over two decades across multiple acts. Aside from his string of four solo albums, one of Thundercat’s biggest claims to fame is his heavy involvement with the iconic 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly, of which he was considered a major contributor at its “creative epicenter”.

The last time Thundercat took the spotlight was in 2017, upon the release of his last studio album Drunk. The album was well regarded amongst fans, many of whom enjoyed the meandering funk-focused sounds at the forefront of the record. Almost three years later, Thundercat’s newest addition is It Is What It Is, a 37-minute, 15-track record that was heavily influenced by the place Thundercat found himself after the death of his close friend and collaborator Mac Miller.

There’s a lot going for this album, musically speaking – almost every facet of Thundercat’s style has been given its due dilligence.

The first two tracks, for example, exemplify Thundercat’s smoother and softer sides with mellow layered basslines and gentle vocals. This immediately turns on its head as “I Love Louis Cole” (featuring Louis Cole) kicks into gear with a warm, peaceful, but energetic sound. Imagine taking a ride in a convertible down the pacific coast highway, it’s sunny, the wind is blowing in your hair, there’s no traffic, and for the sake of this analogy, you’re a little buzzed. That’s the kind of carefree energy this track delivers as Thundercat and Cole go back and forth, simply reflecting on their friendship and the fun they have together.

“Black Qualls” is the first track on this record that really shines compared to the others. First and foremost, the instrumental is as punchy and groovy as it gets with Thundercat. Thundercat, despite being possibly the most prominent bassist in the scene right now, has often voiced a lack of interest in slap bass – but not on this track. The butter-smooth funk instramental is accented with excellent vocal tradeoffs from Thundercat and the first featured artist, Steve Lacy. This section is followed and improved on upon by a vocal feature from Steve Arrington, with a much more soulful and raspy vocal sound. The song’s hook reiterates briefly, before Childish Gambino’s verse provides the perfect conclusion, and the perfect contrast from Arrington’s more oldschool sound with some more modern production, higher pitched, and cleaner singing overall.

“Miguel’s Happy Dance” is a surprisingly mature track given its silly title – the lyrics remind listeners to stay calm and just do what they can to get by with whatever problems they have. At the end of the day, it’ll slowly get better. “How Sway” opens with a paradoxical bassline that’s somehow as fast as it is relaxing when paired with the laid back instrumental. As the song progresses, other instruments and synths enter the frame and the sound goes from mellow to manic. And it maybe sounds just a little bit like Mario Kart music… but in a good way. “Funny Thing” is about as Drunk-esque as any other track on this album, with fat bass and a loose aura. “Overseas” is a shorter, less self serious track about Thundercat flying around the world with his girl and a skit at the end in which twitter personality Zack Fox plays the pilot on whatever plane Thundercat’s on.

“Dragonball Durag”, another single, is the next landmark moment on the album for me. Everything about this track is Thundercat in a perfect, concise, and accessible package. The humor (“I may be covered in cat hair, but I still smell good”.), the funky basslines, the bright synth elements and other instrumental accents, and the good vibes are all there. “How I Feel” is a brief interlude track with cosmic synths and more otherworldly pass patterns, accented by soothing chimes and vocals. “King Of The Hill” is the result of a collaboration with BADBADNOTGOOD catalyzed by Flying Lotus, one of Thundercat’s fellow Brainfeeder labelmates. With a similar instrumental vibe as “Dragonball Durag”, the track maintains the steady groove with moodier melodies, a woozier energy, and more creative production flourishes no doubt the result of BADBADNOTGOOD’s production wizardry. “Unrequited Love” is a more traditional track, with a cut-and-dry message about, you guessed it, unrequited love and a invigorating solo towards the end. 

 “Fair Chance” is another star-studded feature track with pop and RnB kingpin Ty Dolla $ign and rapper Lil B. This track is directly dedicated to Mac Miller, as all three artists pour their hearts out in memoriam. Ty’s voice is absolutely perfect for the track and meshes excellently with Thundercat’s higher pitched, more ethereal vocals. Even Lil B, not exactly known for being the most somber personality in hip-hop, opens his heart with an introspective and heartfelt verse. “Existential Dread” immediately follows, and is a direct continuation of the prior song’s conceptual ethos while being a bit more stripped down. This final stretch of the album concludes with the title track, “It Is What It Is”, an almost theatrical, two part, soft funk fuelled journey into Thundercat’s emotions and mindset in dealing with life’s challenges. The track has a eulogy-like atmosphere in its first half, with darker and more despondent sounding bass melodies. About halfway through, with little warning, Thundercat launches the second leg of the song with just two words, “Hey Mac”. The track takes on a vibrant, comforting sound briefly in the moment, leading me to wonder the purpose of “Hey Mac” – is this Thundercat paying homage? Is this a representation of the one day they meet again? Maybe a little bit of both. As the track finishes out, we’re given a drum solo and other instrumentals to bring the album to its close.

I like a lot about this album – there are plenty of great songs, the sound Thundercat pursues is unique and entirely his own in the current music scene, and the emotional content is excellent even if it’s not everpresent. Despite all the great things about the album, I find the experience a little bogged down by some of the more filler-y tracks, the sometimes flat or muddled mix, and a lack of many new risks taken or ideas brought to the table. Regardless, the pros most certainly outweigh the cons.

I give It Is What It Is by Thundercat a 3.5 out of 5.

Future Nostalgia

By Dua Lipa

The eponymous title track “Future Nostalgia” is, in essence, the album’s thesis. Bult on a solid foundation of 80s electropop, the song exudes the energy of pop from decades past while carrying its own modern aura. This extends beyond the sound of the track, as the lyrics make a clear statement as to what the next 37 minutes will be all about. “You want a timeless song, I wanna change the game” deftly sums up the nature of this album, as the next half hour masterfully mixes 80s pop elements with the trends of the current day. But beyond all that, “Future Nostalgia” is catchy. Everything from the staccato post-chrous, to the attitude-loaded verses and the sublime hooks has the making of a pop anthem.

“Don’t Start Now”, an anthem in its own right, is what immediately follows. Released in November, the single reminded general audiences of Dua Lipa as she prepared for the release of Future Nostalgia. With a bass-heavy electro-funk instrumental, the track is irresistible and the perfect continuation of the foundation laid down by the album’s title track.

The third track of the album, “Cool” doubles down on the echoing 80s synth-pop aesthetic, with a punchy earworm chorus that can easily hold its own when compared to its predecessors. If “Cool” embodied the more romantic side of pop from decades past, “Physical” is its more kinetic counterpart. With a pulsing bass-lead instrumental that feels ripped straight out of an 80s workout video, “Physical” is an infectious, enrapturing example of Dua Lipa’s effortless command over sounds of decades past.

The album’s 5th track, “Levitating” is full of strong, rapid delivery over glamorous, funky instrumentals. The shiny disco aesthetic of the track is irresistible enough on its own, not even considering the captivating performance from Dua on the track. Immediately following is “Pretty Please”, a flirty and sensual track continuing the theme and sounds of the project.

As the album continues past its halfway point, general trends become more apparent. “Hallucinate” is a trance-inducing track with a more 90s/early 2000s influence, while still staying close to the general retro concept of the album. “Love Again” has a slightly different pop flavor, still based on addictive bass grooves but accented by delicate violins and other grand instrumental flourishes.

As the album reaches its conclusion, it starts to lose a bit of its shine. “Break My Heart” is another solid vocal performance over another recognizable, and perhaps a bit generic instrumental. Aside from this, little about the track stands out. Following is “Good In Bed”, which is surprisingly sloppy and loose for such a sexually loaded title. Although the sound of the track isn’t bad necessarily, it doesn’t blend with the romantically-focused nature of the song’s lyrics, cheapening the experience as a whole.

Concluding the album is “Boys Will Be Boys”, a more grandiose, fully developed song dealing with general themes of sexism, womanhood, and societal double standards. While there are some lines that ring out strongly, there are also plenty that come across as somewhat half-baked. Still, the unapologetic and confident energy of the song rings out over most of the issues I have with it, ultimately coalescing in a fitting ending to the record.

Future Nostalgia is a modern pop record drenched in retro flavors and concepts. Perhaps it doesnt deliver on the “future” side of its concept as much, but the album still achieves everything it sets out to and is a milestone in contemporary pop music.

After Hours

By The Weeknd

The Weeknd is bound to elicit some emotion in almost anyone nowadays. Most people remember the irresistable hook of “Cant Feel My Face” from when it took the world by storm in the summer of 2015. Same for his 2016 album Starboy and his 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy. Other, more dedicated fans will remember when he was still developing his signature alternative RnB style in the Trilogy era earlier in the 2010s. With his already extensive catalogue, The Weeknd is one of the biggest names in popular music, and after 2 years, After Hours is a fitting return to the spotlight.

When “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights” came out, I was excited to see the new style and persona Abel Tesfaye would attempt to embody in this chapter of his journey as The Weeknd. Ahead of the release of 2016’s Starboy, Abel cut his iconic hairstyle and adopted a more approachable persona, still keeping his melancholy edge and integrating some new, more retro pop sounds into his library. This time around, he’s grown his hair out and doubled down on the glitz and glam of his last studio album with his bright red suit and grown out hair. The image on the cover of the album as well as the look he’s taken in the two promo singles for the record might suggest a darker, edgier chapter for The Weeknd, but in reality this record is quite the opposite.

As someone who got their start wistfully crooning about drugs, sex, and parties, Abel’s many years of living the high life are finally catching up to him. In the first stretch of the album, he opens up in his most genuine way yet as he ruminates on sins of the past. From the intro track “Alone Again” to the 6 minute long “Escape From LA”, The Weeknd sings in a way that’s more mature, more empathetic, and more heartfelt than ever before. Although this stretch of the record is a little slow, the emotions on display here easily make up for it.

From “Heartless” onward, the album takes on a poppier sound, doubling down on the 80s-style synths. “Heartless” is a classic Weeknd single, with his distinctive sound and delivery creating yeat another moody anthem. “After Hours” and “In Your Eyes” are as upbeat and retro as it gets with the latter even sporting a full sax solo. Closing on a somber note, “After Hours” and “Until I Bleed Out” tie the record up in typical Weeknd fashion, leaving listeners haunted and enthralled. The latter half of the album was definitely catchier and more thorougly realized from a musical end, but the lyrics here lose that genuine feeling present in the first half of the album.

All things considered, After Hours was another quality addition to The Weeknd’s catalogue with its own unique persona. While there isn’t any truly unique songwriting or forward thinking ideas that would push the record to the next level, it’s been a while since we’ve had The Weeknd at full force and it’s good to have him back.

I give After Hours by The Weeknd a 3 out of 5.

3.15.20

By Childish Gambino

It’s been a long few years for Childish Gambino fans. After the release of 2016’s Awaken, My Love! fans were left unsure of the future of Donald Glover’s critically acclaimed solo project. Glover had made several statements that directly implied the record following Awaken, My Love! was to be his final record. These claims turned the next few years from an exciting future to limbo – when would the final Gambino album be released? Would it be good? What will it be about? Will it be live Because The Internet? Will it be like Awaken My Love!? 

Questions of this nature surrounded Glover’s musical career for over a year, while he casually brushed them off to continue focusing on his acting career and producing his TV show, Atlanta. In early 2018, with little word about the album already, “This Is America” was released alongside its symbolism laden video, which as of the writing of this post has over 600 million views. The song’s massive cultural impact brought Childish Gambino the musician back to the spotlight, as Donald Glover the actor exited stage. Later that summer, Gambino released Summer Pack, a two-track EP containing “Feels Like Summer” and “Summertime Magic”, again with no mention of an album. And for a long time, it stayed that way. There were occasional unreleased records performed here and there, many of which would not make the final cut, but no clear indication of the path ahead.

On March 15, the site donaldgloverpresents.com was advertised around the internet by entities tied to Childish Gambino, upon which a collection of songs was streamed on loop for 12 hours. 12 hours after launch, the music was removed and replaced with a week long countdown. At the end of that countdown, on March 22nd, the album was released on streaming platforms worldwide with a blank white cover and the title 3.15.20.

3.15.20 is an unkempt, complicated project. It’s not what I expected as Glover’s next step, but at the same time, it’s not unwelcome. Given the claims that the successor to Awaken My Love! was to be his last album as Childish Gambino, I expected a grand, elaborate project brimming with symbolism, depth, and creativity. What we got isn’t that, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t absolutely packed with creative production, unique ideas, and thought-provoking musical experiments. With no clear narrative thread, no clear theme, and generic time-stamped song titles (aside from “Algorhythm” and “Time”), the only way to really experience this is one track at a time.

The opener, “0.00” is very much an intro track. With sparse, ambient synths and vocalizations, the track sadly doesn’t reel me in as much as I had hoped. For a three-minute track, it’s surprisingly lacking. This disappointment is all washed away by the time “Algorhythm” slides into place, with its dark, futuristic beat and somewhat robotic vocals – and for once i’m using the word “robotic” as a positive descriptor. Usually I call artists robotic when their delivery is lifeless or autotuned to hell, but here Glover manages to utilize filters and effects to make his voice a perfect balance of rough humanity and robotic synthesized tones. Lyrically, the track deals with modern life, technology, and our dependence on it. Althought “Algorhythm” isn’t the opener, it might as well be: it shows us a newer side of Glover, a new sound, and new concepts. In a similar mental vein as 2018’s “Feels Like Summer”, the lyrics lament on the state of the world in a clear and bleak way.

The next song is “Time” with an uncredited feature from Ariana Grande. This track is more melodic and less gritty than “Algorhythm”, but still maintains the outlandish, futuristic flavor to a degree. Both songs so far have a somewhat experimental flavor to their production, similar and no doubt inspired by Kanye West’s Yeezus. As the track progresses the distant, washed-out vocals from both artists weave in and out, but in a way that commands little attention. “Time” stretches out over six minutes, not commonly seen in Gambino or Grande’s wheelhouse typically – which doesn’t help considering the track itself isn’t very fleshed out. Still, it’s creative and adds more to the new, lo-fi and lightly experimental sound Glover seems to be pursuing.

“12.38” is another six minute meandering exercise of Gambino’s new delivery and production. The subject of the track is laid-back shrooms trip with his lover, and as the concept implies the lyrics and instrumentals have psychedeleic flavor and a loose, wavy feel. Features from Khadja Bonet, 21 Savage, and Ink further expand upon the idea, adding the majority of the content and creative leaps made in the latter half of the track. So far, the past three tracks have all been standouts in their own way, even if it’s not in the traditional sense.

Sadly, the standouts slow down.

“19.10” is another longer, indie/lo-fi influenced track with skeletal percussion, soft synths and vocals, and a strange mix. Sometimes strange is good, but in this case, the mixing on this track just feels incompleted in an unfitting way. “24.19” is a slow, slogging continuation on of previous sounds, with a more funk-influenced Awaken, My Love! feel to it – this is possibly because the vocals at the beginning are almost directly reminiscent of “Redbone”. The first three to four minutes of the track blend together, and then what little changes come afterwards are either minimal or aggressively unpeasant towards the end of the track’s eight minute duration. “32.22” follows starting with a dense, bassy instrumental and severly autotuned, mumbly vocals. As the track develops, it becomes clear that Glover was attempting a more Travis Scott-inspired sound, but it comes across less pulled together, less enjoyable, and less psychadelic than expected.

Stretches like this in the album illustrate the risky nature of such a release. With little to no promotion, little artistic direction outside of the music, and no branding or media hype whatsoever, the album relies entirely on its musical contents in a way many other released from esteemed artists can circumvent with chart topping singles and memorable motifs. And on some tracks, that’s great. You get creative, unique expression that shows growth as an artist and promises even more growth in the future. On others, it just feels like aimless noodling and toying around.

It’s clear that this album has its highs and its lows – thankfully, the remainder of the tracklisting has more highs than lows which ultimately balances this project out. “35.31” has a lighter, more sunny sound. Its hook has a more lopsided lyrical delivery that’s matched by the relatively rough, uncleaned and unprocessed sound of the instrumentals. As the song progresses, the introduction of choir vocals and additional melodies really helps it flourish. This sound goes on for a brief while, but the song still continues for another solid minute afterwards with a more bassy, trap-influenced instrumental on the back half.

“39.28” was one of the more curious tracks on this record for me. The echoey, synth-chorus vocals at the introduction immediately bring “Bohemian Rhapsody” to mind, and had me excited for what could possibly be Donald Glover’s take on the concept. Keys slowly bleed into the track, adding depth and developing a more brooding, sad tone. This continues for a while before the end of the track, and honestly leaves me more disappointed than any other part of the album. For a record so full of uncharacteristically long-winded tracks, why did Glover not choose this moment to be one of them? It’s not a bad track by any means, and I like it a lot for what it is. But aside from being a standout in a long string of unusual musical exercises, it is a missed opportunity. Simple as that.

“42.26” is “Feels Like Summer” under a new title. As the song is two years old and has had plenty of time to develop in public conscience, I don’t really have much to add here except that the dichotomy between the heat that brightens our summer and the heat that kills our planet certainly feels right at home given some tracks on the album like “Algorhythm”, as does the musical direction Glover took when originally releasing this.

“47.48” has a bluesy, soulful feel with its twangy, somewhat off-key instrumentals. The chorus has the same layered, echoey sound as many other on the album, but in the context of this instrumental it feels more at home here than on other tracks. As a slow, smooth track, this is the calm before the storm that is “53.49”. “53.49” has more aggressive delivery, fatter bass, and more southern hip hop elements than any track on the album. The track is further developed with soulful prechoruses and more chant-like vocals towards the end, making it as fitting a finale as any for such a project.

3.15.20 has many up and downs. Some tracks feel like a new, unique side of Glover that I can’t wait to see more of. Some feel like half-baked studio sessions with stereotypical lo-fi/indie production thrown on top to try and hide the issues within. At the end of the day, the pros outweigh the cons, and leave this album in a curious but respectable position. My main concern is that if this truly is Gambino’s final album, it will represent significantly wasted potential: the sound Glover has searched for here has a lot of promise as shown by some of the better moments on the record, but is still clearly not at its apex. With another year or two, and another more fully realized shot at a similar concept, Gambino could reach a new and exciting creative peak.

I give 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino a 3.5 out of 5.

Eternal Atake

By Lil Uzi Vert

In July 2018,  just short of a year after the release of LUV is Rage 2, Lil Uzi Vert began teasing a new album called Eternal Atake. Fans didn’t know it at the time, but this album would soon join the ranks of other massively hyped, never realized projects like 16*29, Yandhi, or even the fabled Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole tape. 

As time passed Uzi was continually ensnared in issues with his record label Generation Now, leading him to claim his bosses DJ Drama and Don Cannon were holding him back for undisclosed reasons. In 2019 Lil Uzi claimed to have deleted everything and officially retired from music, presumably due to label related issues.

Eventually, after signing a management deal with Jay Z’s Roc Nation, Uzi began releasing new singles including “Sanguine Paradise” in early 2019 before claiming the album would be released in June. As the month came to a close without any hint of the album’s release, Uzi vanished into the woodwork claiming not to know when the album would release. In December, Uzi took to most concrete step towards releasing the album thus far upon the release of its lead single “Futsal Shuffle 2020”. 

In the following two months, Uzi continued teasing the record with a public vote to determine the project’s album artwork on twitter and the release of another single, “That Way” an interpolation of the Back Street Boys hit “I Want It That Way”. Finally, on March 6th, the album dropped.

Eternal Atake clocks in at 62 minutes with 18 tracks divided into three segments, each representing a different persona. The first introduces Uzi’s “Baby Pluto” character. Musically, not a lot differentiates Baby Pluto from his other sounds and personas. The production and delivery on this stretch of the album definitely has a more futuristic and gritty edge, but tracks like “Pop” and “You Better Move” significantly hold this leg of the album back with their repetitive nature. This is balanced out mostly by the opener “Baby Pluto” and the last song in the section, “Homecoming” which both are on the stronger end of the spectrum. “Baby Pluto” features a brighter, more colorful sound while “Homecoming” has dissonant, jarring samples and production that adds some much-needed variety.

The middle of the album embodies Renji, another of Uzi’s monikers. Tracks like “I’m Sorry”, “Celebration Station”, and “Prices” are more melodic than those in the first third of the album, creating a little contrast. The other three tracks in this section aren’t bad but definitely feel like filler in a similar fashion to the other songs that bloated the first section of the record.

The final third of the album is meant to be Lil Uzi Vert pure and simple, without any other persona taking center stage. “Venetia” achieves this style, and could fit in any of his previous projects. “P2” is an interpolation of his chart-topping hit “XO Tour Llif3” with new lyrics and production but the same general structure and melody. While it is a nice callback to Uzi’s prime, it also feels like a bit of a lazy way to “close” the album especially considering the following two bonus tracks were previously released singles (albeit catchy ones). 

At the end of the day, this album just feels unrefined. There are lots of creative ideas and points of growth from Uzis style on LUV is Rage 2, but it suffers from a large helping of tracks that range from filler to downright repetitive slogs (Looking at you, “You Better Move”). While all this holds the album back significantly, it still has gleaming moments of Uzi at the top of his game. Hopefully this style can be more masterfully integrated next time around.

I give Eternal Atake by Lil Uzi Vert a 2.5 out of 5.

Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World 2

By Lil Uzi Vert

Shortly after the March 6th release of Eternal Atake, Lil Uzi Vert began teasing a deluxe edition for the album. In an unusually open fashion, Uzi candidly talked about what tracks he was thinking of including and even seemed to take some requests. The day before its release, Uzi announced that Eternal Atake (Deluxe) would manifest as the next iteration of his Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World project instead of just a deluxe version. The record itself is full of various tracks, new and old, and embodies the earlier side of Uzi’s sound with more focus on color, melody, and upbeat energy than Eternal Atake.

The first thing you’ll notice about this project is that unlike the album it supplements, LUV vs. The World 2 is full of features from other notable artists. Rappers like Future, Young Thug, 21 Savage, and Chief Keef lend their voices to this project and show us again that Uzi sounds best when taking advantage of the musical chemistry he forms with other artists. On “Strawberry Peels” and “Wassup” Uzi meshes his delivery effortlessly with Young Thug and Future respectively, resulting in songs that are not only catchier but have a greater breakout potential than their predecessors on Eternal Atake.

The features aren’t the only good part of the album though – Uzi is better than ever on solo tracks too. “Myron”, “Moon Relate”, and “Trap This Way” all remind us why we fell in love with Uzi’s infectious charisma years ago when he broke onto the scene. Although Uzi’s lyrics aren’t anything to write home about, I can appreciate how he can give even more somber subject matter like that on “Moon Relate” his own vivacious personal flair.

While this record definitely has its low points like Nav’s characteristically robotic, lifeless vocals on the closing track “Leaders”, it still brings to mind more of the Uzi I love than Eternal Atake. It’s 20 minutes shorter, but that helps trim down on filler and makes each moment that much more memorable. When paired with the wealth of fun guest features, LUV vs. The World 2 just has more solid ground to stand on than Eternal Atake and will definitely be getting more playtime from me.

I give Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World 2 by Lil Uzi Vert a 3 out of 5.

Suga

By Megan Thee Stallion

This new record by Megan Thee Stallion is, much like her, straight to the point. Only 9 tracks and 24 minutes long, Suga doesn’t waste any time making its points. 

“Aint Equal”, “Savage”, “Captain Hook”, and “Rich” all fall within Meg’s standard sex-positive, in-your-face, trap banger sound. Each track has its own appeal and they all do well to stay distinct from one another while still occupying the same space, a feat which seems to be lost on many artists in the spotlight.

Meg shows her softer side on poppier, RnB infused tracks like “B.I.T.C.H.” and “Hit My Phone” featuring Kehlani. Whereas the four tracks mentioned prior are all about stone-cold bars and hype, these two have infectious and unforgettable hooks and smoother, catchier delivery. 

Those two tracks weren’t the only sweeter cuts from Meg – the three final tracks on the record (“Stop Playing”, “Crying In The Car”, and “What I Need”) all occupy a similar niche but with much more autotune. In this moment, Meg loses a lot of the momentum generated during the first two-thirds of the record. The usage of autotune is so thick and overpowering that it sucks away any and all of Meg’s character from these final tracks. Gunna’s typically generic delivery does even more to sap this stretch of identity and verve, leading to a mediocre ending to an otherwise solid, hard-hitting EP.

I give Suga by Megan Thee Stallion a 3.5 out of 5.

Underneath

By Code Orange

Code Orange made their first splash in the hardcore scene in 2012 with Love is Love/Return to Dust, going by the moniker Code Orange Kids at the time. In the years since then, the band has blown up and garnered attention from metal fans across the spectrum because of their unique style and blend of influences. Following 2017’s Forever and 2018’s The Hurt Will Go On, Underneath represents a new milestone in their career and the development of their style.

As prior albums show, Code Orange has a visceral and raw take on the standard hardcore sound with fuzzy, clipping vocals and guitars. Aside from this, the band is known for their glitchy production, with harsh synths and stuttering riffs creating an air of tension and volatility. Both of these aspects of their sound are developed in rare form here, as the percussive screams of Eric Balderose and his co-vocalists are as vicious as the production is jolting and unpredictable. Stylistic touches like this help the band stand out, adding much more texture and color to their riffs and breakdowns than in those of their contemporaries.

“In Fear”, “Cold.Metal.Place”, and “Erasure Scan” have a sordid and cruel sound, equally alluring and terrifying to listeners. Other tracks like “You And You Alone” and “Last Ones Left” focus on pure energy and aggression with headbanging, stomping rhythms and hooks. 

The biggest points of growth for Code Orange in this record are more in the melodic side of their sound, despite the great improvements shown on the heavier end. Songs like “Who I Am” and “A Sliver” take nu-metal influences from late 90s bands like Korn, seeking to unnerve and intrigue listeners in equal measure with winding, hypnotic melodies and shouting choruses. On “Sulfur Surrounding”, the musical direction takes inspiration from grunge music and all its stylistic habits while still cramming in pummeling riffs.

All of these sonic explorations coalesce on the final track, “Underneath”, which is brimming with eviscerating riffs, screeching guitar leads, and an invigorating blend of clean and harsh vocals. A great note to end the record on, and a great song to name the album for as well. Underneath is an excellent evolution on Code Orange’s already well-developed formula and brings them one step closer towards Hardcore dominance.

I give Underneath by Code Orange a 4 out of 5.

Miss Anthropocene

By Grimes

Miss Anthropocene is Grimes’ first album in 5 years, and her fifth album overall. As a concept album, Grimes promised a focus around themes of climate change, with the titular Miss Anthropoece functioning as an anthropomorphic “Goddess” of climate change. In her fords, each song on the record represents “a different embodiment of human extinction as depicted through a pop star demonology.

The album focuses on a more dark synthpop sound, with densely layered production taking on a variety of sonic textures. Some tracks take on a more spacey art pop sound, such as the intro track “So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth”, with ethereal vocal melodies fading in and out, giving off a distinctly futuristic vibe.

Tracks like “Darkseid” and “New Gods” embody the darker side of the record, with pulsing bass and dense, gloomy sounds. On the former, Taiwanese rapper Pan lends high pitched vocals that sound innocent at first, but actually details the desolation of a past friend’s suicide.

“Violence” and “4ÆM” double down on the record’s synthpop side, with driving beats and trance-inducing melodies. “4ÆM” specifically was inspired by the music of Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani, which Grimes wanted to give a futuristic cyberpunk reimagining to.

Across the album, there are tons of different musical influences and twists – on “You’ll miss me when I’m not around” Grimes even goes in the direction of grunge rock and nu metal.

While the album is colorful and eclectic, it feels like it falls short on its thematic promise – whereas “New Gods” and “Violence” may more directly tackle some of the concepts Grimes promised, as a whole, it feels like the conceptual depth isn’t really what she’d made it out to be. While it’s disappointing to feel like the ideas weren’t fully realized, Grimes still has put together a fun, interesting, and thought-provoking record.

I give Miss Anthropocene by Grimes a 3.5 out of 5.

Telemark

By Ihsahn

Telemark is the newest solo release from Norwegian black metal legend Ihsahn, the first of several shorter EPs Ihshan plans to release in the near future. Inspired by his home, this is Ihsahn’s first work to feature songwriting in his native Norwegian. Sonically, Ihsahn said Telemark was intended to be most influenced by a classic black metal sound, as opposed to the more progressive and melodic works from Ihsahn’s solo catalog.

The punchy, startling rhythm of the opening track “Stridig” immediately brings the tension up to ten, with the occasional brass melodies somehow making some consonance out of all the insanity surrounding them. The slow bridge towards the middle of the song maintains the stark, dour tone while shedding the previous aggression, before coalescing in an oddly uplifting way. The track returns to its original motifs as Ihsahn’s tortured screams increase in intensity, becoming a rhythmic chant ending the song with a bang.

Following is “Nord” which starts out more melodic, but is still as dissonant and foreboding as its predecessor. The tension is maintained through the bridge, with descending backing vocals adding to the bitter cold of the track. Ihsahn is often able to blend his skeletal, grating vocals with more melodic textures in a way that other artists just can’t, and this track exemplifies that perfectly. The bridge deconstructs the track, with rhythmic chords slowly building up to a beautifully melodic guitar solo that softens the track’s cruel exterior while emphasizing Ihsahn’s compositional mastery.

“Telemark” opens up with more of the brass instrumentals from earlier, ushering in a foreboding lead guitar melody in harmonic minor, giving the track a vaguely Arabic flavor. The drawn-out instrumentals from the intro perfectly set up the listener for Ihsahn’s harsh vocal introduction as the energy escalates. The drums escalate to blast beats and the intro melody continues iterating in the background, as Ihsahn continues to tie various passages together assaulting the listener with unhinged creative fury.

The final two tracks on the EP are covers – one of Lenny Kravitz’s “Rock And Roll Is Dead” and one of Iron Maiden’s “Wrathchild”. “Rock And Roll Is Dead” tries to maintain Ihsahn’s personal style, while also paying proper homage to its source material. The detached clean vocals on the hook help to keep the track from venturing too far from the black metal style Ihsahn is trying to achieve, but ultimately it proves incredibly hard to make a Lenny Kravitz song into a black metal cover as the track feels disconnected from those preceding it. Thankfully, the galloping rhythm of “Wrathchild” makes up for this, as Iron Maiden’s traditional metal writing meshes much better with Ihsahn’s creative taste as he takes this heavy metal classic for a spin.’

Ihsahn has once again made it clear that he’s a formidable creative force in the metal world. Blending different metal and rock aesthetics together has always been a talent of his, and after two solid albums (Arktis & Amr) he’s making it clear that although he’s not releasing another full-length in the immediate future, he’s as prolific as ever. Telemark highlights the best of Ihsahn’s black metal sound in a less grandiose, but equally impressive way as previous efforts.

I give Telemark by Ihsahn a 4 out of 5.

Changes

By Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber released his new album Changes on Valentine’s Day last week, nearly a full 5 years since the release of his last studio album Purpose. Over the past few months, there have been moments where Justin Bieber’s status as a pop star was called into question, such as the release of Changes‘ lead single “Yummy” which was met with lukewarm reception. Subsequently, Bieber had to beg fans to stream to song in a last-ditch effort to beat out Roddy Ricch’s hit song “The Box” for the #1 spot on the Billboard 200.

On Changes, Justin attempts to put on a more mature persona, shying away from his earlier teenage persona. Now that he’s a married man, he wants to make sure that his art reflects that. Although it definitely feels more mature than his older work, it still lacks a lot of detail and depth lyrically and musically.

The vast majority of the songs on this record do next to nothing to make themselves stand out, often depending on the instrumentals or featured artists to lift Justin. Even with their help, there’s not much redemption. 

For a 17-track record, you’d expect at least a few songs to be memorable – but very few are. The only reason songs like “Intentions” and “Forever” stood out to me is because they had a featured artist to pull the album’s sound out of the completely bland environment that Justin’s created. 

Bieber mixes in elements of trap and RnB in this record. But like other aspects of this record, he does so seemingly without direction, chasing the popular trends and checking all the boxes for a typical pop album without doing anything more than that. The closest thing to stylistic exploration we get is on “Forever”, where Justin essentially tries to impersonate Post Malone’s vocals. 

Its only saving grace is the squeaky clean pop production, but even that’s a low bar to achieve as nearly every album nowadays from any mainstream artist accomplishes that. Overall, Changes is a boring, too-safe, and easily forgettable record.

I give Changes by Justin Bieber a 1.5 out of 5.

no future

By EDEN

no future is the follow up to EDEN’s debut studio album, vertigo. The Irish-born producer and musician leans back into some of his earlier electronic influences on this project while exploring his signature sound.

The opening track, “good morning” is the perfect introduction to this project, washing over listeners with a somber but warm sound underpinned by gentle synths and sustained vocals. As the first half of the record proceeds, EDEN steps away from most of the comfort projected in “good morning” and instead shifts back towards a more Lo-Fi emo-pop sound.

Some tracks take on a very melodic but melancholy sound reminiscent of some of BROCKHAMPTON’s sadder songs, such as “how to sleep” which is driven by a muffled, hollow beat with drawn-out synth bass, hollow drums, and slightly echoing synth accents.

Other areas of the record have a more unusual, skeletal sound with very simple instrumentals that cut out all the fluff but still serve their purpose perfectly, like on “calm down”

One of my favorite aspects of EDEN’s songwriting on this project is the fact that he’s not afraid to stray from the standard verse-chorus format, on tracks like “just saying” and “isohel”. This frees him up to throw in some more creative and artistic elements, such as the grand choir on “love, death, distraction” which envelopes the listener in its desolate but comforting embrace. 

The production style of the record has some fun quirks every now and then, with mid-heavy filters and interestingly pasted together vocal lines that, while not the smoothest, add texture and depth to songs that would otherwise feel sleepy. 

Certain tracks like “????” have some changes of pace, veering away from the general sorrow with a more upbeat sound and a little more energy. Moments like this help give the record a stronger sense of diversity without hurting its cohesion.

My main gripe with no future is the length. Many of the tracks on the latter half of the record feel like they do little to stand out from their predecessor. This makes it hard to maintain full interest for the whole runtime and leaves me feeling like if EDEN either cut out some of these tracks or put a little more effort, the record wouldn’t begin to blend together in the way that it does towards the end. 

Although it’s not the most diverse record, the general sound that EDEN achieves is unique and resonates emotionally.

I give no future by EDEN a 3 out of 5.

The Slow Rush

By Tame Impala

Almost 5 years after the release of Tame Impala’s critically acclaimed Currents, Kevin Parker is back with the next chapter in the story of Tame Impala: The Slow Rush. This record gained substantial hype from the Tame Impala fanbase online after singles began dropping last year, taking on a more mellow, psychedelic, and introspective sound than its predecessor.

Lyrically, this album deals with the concept of time and how it both gives and takes in its ebb and flow. “Posthumous Forgiveness” addresses the sadder side of this concept, with Parker ruminating on the estranged relationship he had with his recently-deceased father. On other cuts like “Breathe Deeper”, Kevin focuses on mindfulness and living in the present moment, staying positive and taking deep breaths through times of tribulation to stay afloat. 

Musically, the record incorporates tons of colors and sounds into its palette from across different genres. Whether its funk basslines, disco-inspired drum beats, progressive rock inspired methods of songwriting, or the general poppiness of some pieces, it’s clear that there’s plenty of content here.

However, at times this sound sometimes becomes muddled, and in attempts to span genres, it actually loses a strong sense of self. This isn’t present on most tracks, but towards the end of the record it definitely feels like Parker’s ideas are beginning to run thin.

Tracks like “Instant Destiny” and “Borderline” take on a more upbeat sound serve as good breaks between the psychedelic, phaser soaked sound set for the album by the opening track “One More Year”.

As a whole, The Slow Rush takes some chances and when it does, it excels. However, some tracks towards the end begin to feel less inspired. If it weren’t for the more energetic, colorful closing track “One More Hour”, the latter half of the album would feel seriously undeveloped. The sound isn’t quite as fun and adventurous as that of Currents, but it’s still a great peek into the mind of Parker, full of color and creativity.

I give The Slow Rush by Tame Impala a 3.5 out of 5.