Dead Channel Sky - Clipping: Review
Review by Lavender:
Clipping is a rap trio that in certain circles needs absolutely no introduction. One of those circles being my long-time readers as I've always been a huge fan of the band. I dished out a lot of retrospective acclaim to their progressive rap masterpiece from 2014 and their highly conceptual follow-up a few years later. I was also a big fan of their multi-album indulgence into horror-core which resulted in the excellent 2020 album Visions Of Bodies Being Burned, their best record yet and one I called my album of the year for 2020. But it's been a long 5 years since then and what the group returned with is a shift in style to the equally conceptual world of cyberpunk. While they tackle the new sound and style with just as much commitment, it's far and away the dorkiest thing I've ever heard them do, which is an issue at points.
Dead Channel Sky isn't precisely a tale of two halves but a majority of the highlights pop up on the first half, which makes for a really strong start to the record when taken in tandem with some of the shorter interlude and world-building style tracks. My two favorite singles from the record "Change The Channel" and "Run It" pop up in this run. "Change" comes first and I've been absolutely enamored with it since it dropped earlier this year, it's such a propulsive intense moment that manages to be verbose but also so catchy. The wiry electronics really do feel like being in a 90s hacker movie in a way that still feels intense. There's also "Run It" a chiller song from last year with a stiff icy beat that really fits its technological subject matter. Daveed's flows are so razor-sharp that the instrumental breaks in the track come off like a necessary exhale.
After a short intro, the album kicks into gear with "Dominator" which is an absolute banger to start things off. I love the vocal samples and the blown-out hook plus Daveed sets the cyberpunk tone with one lyric after another throughout the track. "Scams" has a minimal beat populated with both metallic and glitchy distortion. Daveed goes back to back with Tia Nomore and the track is infectious enough to glide back and forth between them smoothly. Finally, "Code" is a particularly funny moment within the lens of the entire album. It's genuinely cool sounding in the truest possible sense despite the fact that the lyrics are full of techy double entendres. It's kind of a testament to the slick confidence of both the vocals and the beat. It's a shame this level of unflinching cool isn't kept up on the second half of the album.
The second half of the record isn't actually devoid of highlights. Among the album's dense population of shorter songs, "Mood Organ" is one of the best. It's very playful and self-referential despite the uncompromising abstract beat. The record also ends off on a really strong note. "Welcome Home Warrior" features the album's dorkiest moment, a verse from Aesop Rock with a bar about bowties that has be groaning and laughing simultaneously. Despite that, I think he and Daveed both kill it and the song is a breath of fresh air after a lull on the record. It concludes with "Ask What Happened" which is a strong closing track with a D&B-flavored instrumental and several distinct shifts throughout its runtime. Daveed manages to guide a lot of the record's cyberpunk themes to their logical conclusion as well I like it a lot.
Unfortunately, this is where the major conflict of the record emerges. A few too many songs on Dead Channel Sky have an unflinchingly sleek demeanor that contrasts hard with the ultra-dorky flavors of more vintage science-fictiony cyberpunk. "Dodger" is a good example from the first half whose chorus is all about hunting down and killing viruses. Its goofiness contrasts with the excellent instrumental. That's also how I felt about the single "Keep Pushing" which has a much calmer demeanor and more sentimental hook than anything else on the record and it tends to just go in one ear and out the other.
Sometimes even the instrumentals aren't great like on "Polaroids" which has this annoying clanky drum machine that underpins the verses. The biggest offender in the entire second half is "Mirrorshades pt. 2 which feels entirely too lame in about the most obvious way possible. Conceptually I love the idea of Clipping hopping on a dance beat but the execution is just exceedingly goofy. Putting Cartel Madras on a beat like this should be a crime and yet they kind of bring the heat anyway.
When Clipping drops the mind goes straight to "AOTY potential," and Dead Channel Sky isn't that. But the high standards they've set for themselves are no reason to undersell what the record does accomplish. It gets off to a fantastic start for one and frequently shows off both the instrumental boldness of its style and production and the tremendous talent of its fiery frontman. It also follows in the footsteps of many other Clipping records by delivering a compelling concept without drowning in narrative squalor. While it doesn't do any of that as well as the band's best work, it's still nice to have one of the most interesting acts in hip-hop back after 5 years regardless. 7/10
For more hip hop check out my review of Kendrick Lamar's GNX
