ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE - BROCKHAMPTON: Review
Brockhampton
are a California via Texas rap group/boy band whose youthful fusion of rap, pop and R&B has become sort of a trademark in the years since their Saturation trilogy first caught fire in 2017. The last time we heard from the group in 2019 they were exploring a much more somber approach to their sound, but from the singles to this record they projected a return to their idiosyncratic brand of hip hop.
Review By Lav:
I've had pretty positive reception to most of what Brockhampton have done. They kicked off their career with Saturation 1 and 2 which scored a 9 and 10 respectively in my reviews and the acclaim returned when Ginger turned out to be one of my favorite albums of 2019. I was excited to see what the band was going to do next even before I heard the incredible lead single from this album. Now that it's been released in its entirety I'm impressed by both the versatility of the execution on the record, as well as its consistency.
BUZZCUT was the lead single and opening track and its yet another in the line of great singles from the group. Kevin goes toe to toe with Danny Brown with killer results as well as delivering a hoot that is totally instantaneous. Danny's verse is explosive and hilarious and the whole song is basically exactly what I hope for from the group. The highlights obviously don't stop there with the next next song Chain On being another major hit. The song has a beat unlike anything else you'll hear on a previous Brockhampton record. It has an old school hip hop feel and fittingly enough JPEGMAFIA shows up and spits an absolutely fire verse to kick the song off. Dom is up next and he feels like a totally natural fit given his sound is more inspired by old school rap, to which he obviously knocks it down. The whole thing fittingly ends with a C.R.E.A.M sample and I couldn't love it more.
THE LIGHT has been one of the most talked about songs on the album and for good reason. It has a dark rattling beat with hard-hitting drums and blaring guitars. Joba gets brutally honest on his fathers suicide and how it effected him personally in a moment of striking emotion that should have a pretty big impact on just about anyone. Kevin follows this with observations about his own relationship with fame and his family. The lyricism is all so passionate which really fits well alongside the confrontational instrumentation and it reminds me one one of my favorite tracks the band has ever made Dearly Departed. I'LL TAKE YOU ON is one of the poppiest cuts on the record with Kevin, Matt and bearface deliverin ghsort sweet verses then coming together on a smooth lovesick hook. The whole thing is very cute and the hook is quite catchy. While I wouldn't call it the classically best singing I've ever heard they do pull it off with an impressive level of authenticity that's very easy to buy into.
The record hits a real hot streak starting with WHATS THE OCCASION? and lasting basically the entire rest of the album. OCCASION is a hard-hitting emotional cut with another great hook this time coming from Joba. Matt Champion kicks off the song with a major highlight verse backed by sparse guitar riffing and punchy percussion. The back half of the song also features a wiry explosions of guitar I absolutely love that sounds like the old bearface closers from the Saturation trilogy. When I Ball kicks off with a killer Dom verse about how he saw people constantly in and out of prison growing up, as well as how good of a job his mother did rasing him. Joba and Kevin match him with a nostalgic hook that sounds perfectly childlike with their vocals pithed up. Matt does his own reflecting on childhood let down and when you look at the song as a whole it's simple, but bubbles with enjoyable personality.
DON'T SHOOT UP THE PARTY is an absolute BANGER that sees Kevin kicking off the track with a ridiculously hard verse on how his past has been affected by social issues before wrapping it all up with an absolute killer hook. The song has an absolutely awesome beat that guides it through a series of verses and makes the hook high impact time and time again. DEAR LORD is a short heavily gospel inspired piece with bearface fronting a chorus of backing vocals gracefully reflecting on the concept of "the light" that the record explores in detail. THE LIGHT PT. 2 is an emotional counterpart to part one that sees Kevin and Joba returning and exploring nostalgia in a slightly brighter take. Kevin spends a lot of time reflecting on good things that have happened to him and how thankfully he is for them. Joba on the other hand continues contemplating his fathers suicide but in a way that feels more inspired and forward looking as he repeats "the past does not refine you". It makes sense as both a sonic and emotional finale to the record.
COUNT ON ME was the other single and I think it's solid. It has hidden features from A$AP Rocky and SoFlexy who both bring different styles to the track. While their confrontational verses don't exactly mesh with the beat I still think the talent on display is effective. Matt Champion's dreamier verse on the back end of the song fits perfectly. There are definitely conflicting priorities but with a decent hook I mostly enjoy the song. Windows is a hard-hitting posse cut with contributions from almost everybody across its 6 minute runtime. Most of the verses are solid moments with Dom in particular delivering a fiery series of bars that goes absolutely insane in the second half. Jabari's hook is a nice breath of fresh air between the verses that leads into the songs spacier back half highlighter by a hazy bearface verse. The song isn't perfect but I think most of it is up to par.
BANKROLL is a song that the band has been teasing for years as a collaboration with A$AP Mob and I'm sad to report that it's actually one of my least favorite songs here. It kicks off with a zany Ferg verse that is funny but light on technical proficiency. The hook really needed to hit a little harder since it sort of drones on with the identical rhyme scheme and Rocky's adlibs for forever. The song doesn't sound terrible but it lacks in memorable refrains. Old News is the other moment I didn't love despite Jabari's buttery smooth hook. The verses are a totally mixed bag with only Merlyn's performance really standing out. The inconsistency makes the track unfortunately drag on more than anything else here.
While this record doesn't have either the hard-hitting creativity of the Saturation trilogy or the emotional potency of Ginger THROUGHOUT its runtime, there are plenty of moments that have those things in spades. The highlights here are just as great as ever for the band and many of the members provide unique excellent additions. Weirdly enough it was the features that I found the most inconsistent as aside from Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA I wasn't that impressed with the guests. Despite that there are so many moments where bearface, Dom, Kevin and even Joba show off their immense talent and the results are solid, not revolutionary but incredibly enjoyable. 8/10
This cover had so much potential. I enjoy the colors, the concept, the composition, but not the execution of the piece. The layering of the white subject in the center is cool and had the opportunity to add a ghosting effect of each of the band members over the really beautiful background. The text of the title is successfully designed and it could've been an amazing focal point of the piece but instead it's just stamped in the corner. The cover is overtaken by the gimmick of it being a photo of the CD. I want to like this so much since I love most of the direction Brockhampton has done in their previous work but I'm disappointed. 4/10
