now, more than ever EP - Flatbush Zombies: Review
are a Flatbush, Brooklyn based hip hop trio consisting of Meechy Darko, Erick The Architect and Zombie Juice. The trio blew up off of a series of critically acclaimed mixtapes highlighted by 2013's BetterOffDead. The group has found moderate commercial success with their pair of studio albums but have yet to reach the same level of critical acclaim. The last time we heard from the trio was on last years Beast Coast album Escape From New York alongside fellow New York rap collectives Pro Era and The Underachievers.
Review By Lavender:
I've enjoyed the music of Flatbush Zombies for as long as they've been around. While I agree with most fans that BetterOffDead is the trios best project I enjoyed their 2018 record Vacation In Hell a little bit more than most. Pair this with the fact that the Zombies, specifically Meechy delivered some of the best highlight verses on the Beast Coast project and you get more than enough reason to be excited for new music from the group.
The EP era of sorts kicked off with the single iamlegend a pretty solid song that I've grown fond of. Meechy drops the standout verse here and Erick shows up with a slick performance as well. Within the tracklist of the EP the song doesn't have the best hook of the group but the focus is mainly on the tight bars and it does that well. The second half of the EP is where all the rest of the projects best track lie starting with dirty elevator music. The track goes hard as fuck with a punchy dizzying beat and really solid performances all around. I'm not quite sure they achieve the songs title but it is really for the better as this may be one of the best songs of the bunch. It is also highlighted yet again by a standout Meechy Darko verse.
Blessings has a verse from Zombie that is vocally really weird and not quite on point but everything else about the song is great. Erick's hook is wordy but effective and his verse channels some Joey Badass like elements in the excellent quality of the performance and lyricism to wrap up the track really well. The closing track When I'm Gone is another highlight and serves as a more subtle and introspective closing track. Not to sound like a broken record because everybody on the song is great but Meechy stops the song in its tracks with a Mac Miller shoutout and follows it with what may be my favorite single verse on the whole EP. It is the longest song of the bunch but makes great use of its time with good verses from everyone and a good feature from guest singer Sophie Faith.
Quicksand is a really weird sounding track filled with winding group vocals and a big chorus. The song is definitely interesting sonically but it doesn't really feature a rewarding structure or any catchy verses that would normally be the focus of a good Flatbush Zombies song. The biggest miss on the record is the opening song Herb not only because Zombie delivers a really weak hook followed immediately by a really weird opening verse. Erick hops on the track sounding like the 4th member of Migos for some reason and doesn't really get much better even when he picks up his flow. For some reason when Meechy's verse shows up the beat reverts back to something less interesting than the rest of the song and it is the final questionable choice the ultimately kills the song.
now, more than ever isn't perfect but it's a pretty damn solid release from a group who has made a habit of consistency over the years. The talents of all three members are on display at one point or another on this short collection of tracks and both Meechy and Erick deliver some big time highlights as well. Given I enjoyed this much more than I didn't and I'll probably be revisiting it all summer I can't help but be happy with what the Zombies have presented here. 7/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson: I like this cover! It can't be grouped into any category specific to a illustration or photo and it's simplicity is awesome. The pops of colors gives it visual interest and if you look closely you can see intricate hidden designs within it. The lack of text is nice, if it has any it would've become crowded. The placement o the advisory fills is nice because it balances everything out. 7/10
For more hip hop check out my review of the new Run The Jewels record RTJ4 here
