For the past 12 years, Gru and his minions have had a chokehold on nearly all aspects of American media. Starting with “Despicable Me,” a movie centered around the protagonist-villain, Gru, and his relationship with three foster children while they attempt to steal the moon, the minions have slowly but surely stolen the show for themselves. From memes to clothing items, the minions have created a brand name for themselves, becoming more popular than Gru himself.

Prior to the release of “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” pop culture had a field day with hundreds of minion-themed memes. Jokes about attending the premiere in full suits as “gentleminions” led to teens actually doing so, disrupting the movie targeted at children ages 11 or younger and their parents by yelling Minion gibberish at the screen throughout the film.

With a children’s movie centering around the quest for villain hood amid bright and happy cinematography, there are a lot of themes that require attending to on behalf of the creators to pull off such a film. As with every movie, the soundtrack plays a key role in holding all of this unexpected chaos together.

This time around, Illumination Entertainment brought in Jack Antonoff to handle the album’s production, creating a soundtrack that acts more as a pop hits cover album than an original.

This album is so similar to the previous soundtracks that it would be hard to distinguish if not for the names who litter the track. From Thundercat to St. Vincent, it’s the way these big names remake the tracks that makes this album special.

Produced almost exclusively by Antonoff with help from RZA, Heitor Pereira, St. Vincent, and Ex Reyes, the soundtrack covers 70s era funk, pop, and soul hits in a fresh manner. In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Antonoff explained that the idea was “to take modern artists that are really in some way in the tradition of the great music of that time and then record them with this half modern technique, half super analog technique. Animation in kids’ movies is pretty trippy, so you can f–king get away with a lot.”’

You can hear it in the soundtrack — this album is a psychedelic trip. Every song sounds like an acid-dipped version of its original, invoking visuals of bright flowers and roller rinks and ringing 70s imagery loud through the mind, even for someone who hasn’t yet seen the movie (me).

It’s no surprise Antonoff could tackle such a project. With his history of working with Lana Del Rey (with whom he created “Norman F—cking Rockwell”), Taylor Swift, P!nk, Lorde, and more, Antonoff has what it takes to recreate older hits of the same genre he does so well. According to Billboard, his goal is that the soundtrack introduces these songs to the new generation, but feels their place in history is solid enough to last on their own.

“I think there’s certain songs that live in the moment and then certain songs that kind of live forever,” he says. “I think the songs that I chose, regardless of this project, live forever. So this can just be another point in the long story of all the songs which are going to go way into the future of mankind.”

“Turn Up The Sunshine” is the lone original on the album, bringing disco to the modern era with deep bass from Tame Impala and Diana Ross’s iconic voice. The song broke onto Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, landing at No. 21 and making it Ross’s first hit on any Billboard chart since 2006. “Turn Up The Sunshine” is the exact song I would expect to come from the Minions soundtrack — interpret that however you like.

Brittany Howard’s “Shining Star” and BROCKHAMPTON’s “Hollywood Swinging” both handled the original versions with respect, balancing their own artistic styles with the original. Unfortunately, the track they sandwich, “Funky Town” by St. Vincent, is horrible. The autotune takes away from the vocals that make the original so iconic and instead hurts the ears, making this song the lone instant-skip on the soundtrack.

Kali Uchis beautifully remakes João Gilberto’s “Desafinado”, but the translation of the song to English makes it harder to find the resemblance. The 70s-eque remix of a bossa nova classic doesn’t translate too well in terms of instrumentals, but Uchis’s voice carries the song in a beautiful way.

Polachek’s cover of “Bang Bang” is hauntingly beautiful, using the western theme to her advantage and vocally bodying the track. Thundercat’s “Fly Like An Eagle” puts his skills as a bassist at the helm, using his trippy vocals to make it feel like a Thundercat original.

Phoebe Bridgers’s cover of “Goodbye To Love” and Weyes Blood’s “You’re No Good” show their power as vocalists. “Vehicle” nails the Despicable Me vibe, with Gary Clark Jr. doing an excellent job of holding his voice above the instrumentals without overpowering them, giving the whole song a balance that lacks throughout the album.

The second half of the album doesn’t stand out like the first half does. Tierra Whack’s “Black Woman Magic” was something I never thought I’d hear but have always unknowingly wanted, but the autotune felt strange over Santana’s guitar. “Cecilia” is a celebratory Minion song, making it quite annoying as the Minions are bad vocalists. However, the jazz solo is surprisingly enjoyable and I found myself tapping along throughout.

While the soundtrack can feel like it is trying too hard to do something it can’t, every single song is easily identifiable as a Minions-esque song, which is really all that a soundtrack is meant to have. The “Minions: The Rise of Gru” soundtrack will carry these songs into the new generation, for better or for worse. I can only hope they find the originals.

favorite tracks:

Bang Bang - Caroline Polacheck

You’re No Good - Weyes Blood

Vehicle - Gary Clark Jr.

Sydney Fluker is a staff writer.

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Thanks for making the last six years a little easier 💎

By Carter Fife

On Valentine’s Day, music’s psychedelic pop-rock authority Tame Impala released their fourth studio record The Slow Rush after a lengthy five-year wait. During this wait, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker has occupied himself working in collaborations involving Miguel, Travis Scott, SZA, ZHU, and even with Harlem’s own A$AP Rocky. After Parker’s third record Currents (2015), the combination of almost universal critical acclaim and personal success has put the singer and multi-instrumentalist in a strange and almost paradoxical situation. How does an introvert - experienced in self-reflection and carrying a sincerity beyond his years - grapple with the trials of being a commercial artist? How do you stay true to yourself when so much is expected of and for you? How do you keep your composure when there is so much on the line? What is there left to do after becoming a respected household name? The answer may be unknown and the question convoluted - but Parker seems close to honing his response on this hour-long record.

The Slow Rush is a meditation on aging, time, and our own limited mortality. Some tracks branch into reflections on his relationships with people like lovers or Parker’s own father, but they all maintain a cohesive thematic register of sobering introspection on what it means to exist in one space while remembering another. When my sister, who is far more well versed in Tame Impala facts and interviews than I could ever hope to be, told me that Parker didn’t start working on the album until a little over a year ago, I was both surprised and not surprised at all. Part of this stemmed from the album’s aural profile being so similar to that of 2015’s Currents. Despite there being a five-year gap in between the two projects - both are dominated by the modern Tame Impala SoundFont. Parker’s mythological toolbox seems to be composed of a few powerful tools: dreamlike falsetto vocals that sound like they were recorded at the bottom of a well, punchy and rhythmic percussive arrangements, and piano/bass melodies that are so catchy they remain playing in your head for hours after the music stops. This is what makes the album’s short history so surprising, because for better or for worse - The Slow Rush could have been the unused D-Sides for Currents that didn’t make the final cut (or the shorter B-sides EP that was released later).

This is not to say that there isn’t anything new on The Slow Rush, as the album has dozens of highlights that are resonant and enjoyable - though unfortunately those that rival Currents are few and far between. One track that initially stood out as especially compelling was “Borderline”, one of the singles that dropped in the spring of last year. It had an ABBA-Esque danciness to it that when paired with its intense bass melody made for a track that stayed in my rotation throughout the year. Unfortunately, the track was revised for the record’s release, and now fans are left with a tinny shell of what once was one of my favorite tracks of 2019. Though the change was not that dramatic (the new mix altered the visibility of the drum and vocal tracks to make the bassline more prominent), unfortunately when juxtaposed against what once was, it is hard not to look back at the past without a slight bit of jealousy. Coincidentally this manner of self-reflection is exactly what the record is about. Could this change be intentional? Probably not but it sure is fun to think about.

Another track released last spring, “Patience”, was unfortunately left off the album entirely. Two of the record’s other singles, “Lost in Yesterday” and “It Might Be Time” are both significantly more forgettable despite how insanely repetitive these tracks are. The final single “Posthumous Forgiveness” is perhaps the highest point on the record, as the beefy 6-minute long record is divided into two distinct segments. The first is a tragically elegant and steady composition where Parkers sings to his deceased and estranged father “... while you still had time, you had a chance, but you decided to take all your sorrys to the grave. Did you think I'd never know? Never wise up as I grow?”. The second is a rare moment of optimism, a dancy and synth-laden moment where Parker forgives his father, singing “Wanna tell you 'bout my life, wanna play you all my songs, hear your voice sing along”. The track is beautiful, and the payoff at the end is worth every second. Part of this track’s tragic elements stems from the fact that the other songs on this project fail to be as dynamic, or carry the range that this track does.

Songs like “On Track”, “Is It True” and “Breathe Deeper” are fun, while repetitive, but they are so one-sided it is hard to feel fully satisfied after listening to them. Following up a record as polished as Currents certainly set Parker up with some high expectations to jump over, and unfortunately, Parker misses the mark more often then he hits it on The Slow Rush. With that being said, when Parker succeeds - he succeeds - and though I walked away from this record unsatisfied I can’t help but root for Parker, and I’ve noticed that other publications are likely in the same boat as I am. Scores for this record generally circle around the high 70’s - low 80’s, a range comically attributed to certain news sites that have negative opinions on projects that come from artists they like. I’m happy that Parker told WUBR the wait for his next project won’t be as long, but I hope the next time he enters the spotlight he delivers a more thought out project than this one.

Favorite Track

Posthumous Forgiveness

Borderline

Breathe Deeper

Rating: 5

Listen to The Slow Rush here:

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