Letting Go Of Love With Steve Lacy: “Gemini Rights” Album Review

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by Luke Modugno

Duality is a quality that seems to plague the entirety of humanity. In a reality constructed on subjective truths, an immeasurable amount of perspectives and an incalculable abundance of contexts, perceiving with consistency has been an ageless challenge to our species. That challenge is clearly amplified for people like Steve Lacy. 

The Compton native has returned from a two-year hiatus, bringing with him his second studio album Gemini Rights. Lacy isn’t embracing the role of an activist for a specific astrological sign on this record, as the title may suggest. In fact, he’s precisely and loudly presenting the stereotypical, infamous vice of a Gemini: indecision. 

We’ve seen rap megastars (and fellow Gemini) Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar illustrate their own internal strife as it relates to social issues, their world views and ego’s. However, Lacy’s chronic issue with irresolution has put him in an unfavorable spot on Gemini Rights. 

From track-to-track, Lacy is decidedly over his ex-lover. Then, in a whiplash of an instant, he’s head-over-heels for them. Because of Lacy’s flawless and skilled songwriting, Gemini Rights conveys a flurry of romantic feelings. With regret, sorrow, passion, lust and anger snapping into focus across the record, Lacy gives listener’s emotional motion sickness in a way only a bonafide poet could. While Lacy has never struggled to touch on romantic subjects throughout his discography, Gemini Rights approaches the subject with unprecedented nuance and thoroughness. 

“Static,” the opening track, sets the table for Gemini Rights, as Lacy serenades his ex with such elegance that it’s almost as if he isn’t vilifying them and their transgressions against their shared love. “If you ever had to stunt your shining for your lover, dump that fucker” is sung with a particularly intense vitriol that makes it seem that Lacy is finally over them. 

The funky distraction from post breakup depression that is “Helmet” sews the seeds of doubt in the listeners head that Lacy may be an unreliable narrator. Although trying his best to seem unphased and unbothered by their split, when Lacy feels down, his instinctual reaction is still to lean on this person. The cheery guitar plucks paired with cleverly foreboding writing makes “Helmet” a clear standout of the tracklist of Gemini Rights.   

Both “Mercury” and “Bad Habit” stand to support the thesis of Lacy’s lingering love for his ex. As he stares blankly at his ceiling while “writing an ‘i’m sorry’ text” and asks his ex-lover “you think i’m two-faced? I can name 23,” Gemini Rights exudes the crushing anxiety that comes with feeling stuck, inactionable and alone. 

The record culminates with its penultimate track “Sunshine,” featuring the silky-smooth Foushee who plays the part of Steve’s ex in a conversation between the two. Steve let’s us know that it’s been a couple months since their split. Hastily engaging a defense mechanism, Lacy becomes combative, adding “safe to say after me you peaked.” Foushee enters on a high-horse, telling Lacy that she’s taken the highroad despite his criticisms, imploring him to stop attempting to fabricate the intensity of their love with other people. Mutually agreeing to drop the hostility, Foushee asks “why can’t we just get along? Or at least get it on?”

Ending with the two harmonizing in unity “I still love you,” “Sunshine” is just one of many backtracks, reconsiderations and flip-flops on Gemini Rights. Although presenting the complication with this breakup through the lens of the ever-conflicted Gemini mind, Lacy knows his listeners are empathetic to the struggle.

If you were to reorder the tracklist of Gemini Rights, you would likely be able to formulate what a traditional grieving process of a romantic split is supposed to look like. But what Gemini Rights presents is a more authentic illustration of the unpredictability of human emotion, especially an emotion as potent as love. Feelings aren’t linear and they’re fickle. While Steve may not think so, the Gemini’s uncertainty isn’t to blame here.

Sonically, Gemini Rights is a soulful blend of the experimentation of Lacy’s 2020 effort The Lo-Fis, the groovy chord progressions of Apollo XXI and the early knack for engaging songwriting displayed on Steve Lacy’s Demo. In other words, Lacy brings together the whole of his assets as an artist to deliver his highest quality production on Gemini Rights. Additionally, Lacy’s pen is on an entirely different level here. Crafting hooks, progressions and vocal harmonies that stick in your brain like plaster (“Bad Habit,” “Mercury,” “Helmet”), Gemini Rights is the best R&B record to release this year. 

In a year filled with smash records like Dawn FM and WASTELAND by The Weeknd and Brent Faiyaz respectively, Gemini Rights simply outclasses it’s R&B contemporaries. Despite the conflicted nature of man, the superbness of Gemini Rights will ensure discussion of this record and its deserved inclusion in the album of the year conversation. 

Favorite tracks: 

Helmet

Bad Habit 

Sunshine (feat. Foushee)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Despite Notable Cast, The “Minions” Soundtrack is GRUesomely Underwhelming

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by Sydney Fluker

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.

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Sydney Fluker is a staff writer.

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Performing in a Parking Lot: Thundercat and Hannibal Buress Live in Los Angeles

By Carter Fife

Last weekend in Pasadena, fans of comedy and music flocked to the suburbs to watch Thundercat and comedian Hannibal Buress play a drive-in show in the Rose Bowl Stadium parking lot. Though this was certainly not the ideal way to see the two performers, attendees were respectful and responsible - following the COVID guidelines and mask requirement. As the LA sun set on the large patch of grass, a stage was illuminated while guests did their best to hide their drinks under their blankets and LA Dodgers afghans. 

Taking the stage first was Thundercat, whose performance was lively and upbeat - definitely a much-needed dose of fun for fans during the pandemic. Wielding a massive bass guitar, the LA musician offered fans a heartfelt ‘thanks for coming’ before playing a litany of tracks from his newest record It Is What It Is. To fans’ surprise, Thundercat even brought out Ty Dolla $ign to perform their track ‘Fair Chance’ - a chill moment that was far from a harbinger of what was to come. As quickly as it started, Thundercat ended his set with ‘Funny Thing’, and fans were treated to a brief pre-recorded video of the two discussing topics like video games, Cowboy Bebop, to backstage fights at music festivals. After about 30 minutes, Hannibal graced the stage.

Hannibal’s set was not as straightforward. Though it is unclear whether or not he was unprepared, or under the influence, or both, the Chicago comedian stumbled through a mixture of old bits, awkward banter, and personal songs. It wasn’t all bad - at one point he brought out Open Mike Eagle, and it was fun watching the band members behind him cringe as he tried to play off poorly timed jokes about Chadwick Boseman. While it would have been more enjoyable if his set was better, or if he bombed harder, attendees seemed to be having a good time, if not a little confused as to what was going on. Selena Kuikahi, an attendee at Saturday’s show, noted that Hannibal looked like he “didn’t try”, but the performance was not without its moments. Another highlight was when Hannibal made his way through the parking lot in a UFO, asking fans what their biggest regrets in life were. Though the bit didn’t last long, it was still great to watch a grown man talk about VR porn for an hour. 

Though the pandemic has hit the live performance industry hard, and many fans are ravenous to go out and live their lives again, shows like these are a solid way to get out of the house safely, and to forget about present anxieties for a few hours. The audio quality was surprisingly good, especially compared to when I watched Tenet in Sparks Nevada at another drive-in. Unlike that one, the audio did not sound like it was being played through a walkie-talkie, and we did not hear gunshots within 15 minutes of the performance. Parking was easy and it didn’t take long to leave the stadium, so I would highly recommend performances like these as a great way to revitalize both your mental health and a suffering industry right now. Thundercat and Hannibal put on a great show, given the circumstances, and I look forward to eventually seeing the two of them at a show in the future. 

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StereoVision's AOTY Power Rankings: May

By StereoVision Staff

Welcome to our Album of the year power ranking series! Each month all our team members submit their “top 10 albums of 2020 so far” along with some notes about why their list looks the way it does. These lists are then compiled into our overall power rankings which you can find below. Keep scrolling to see each team members personal list which gives interesting insight on how different albums age over the course of the year for specific people. Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy the article!

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The Teams Picks:

3.15.20 & A Written Testimony still remain at the top of my list because of the expert artistry on both of the projects leading to immense replay value. Upon release, I thought Smino’s new mixtape She Already Decided was solid, but as I revisited the project through the end of April and beginning of May, I quickly realized it was one of my favorite offerings in recent memory. I wouldn’t be surprised if She Already Decided makes it all the way to my year end list because of how fun the entire tape is. Westside Gunn lived up to the lofty expectations he’s set for himself on the excellent Pray For Paris and Kenny Mason showcased his all-time great potential on his debut album Angelic Hoodrat. Lastly, Larry June and Cardo made one of the best albums to listen to in the car with Cruise USA, a undeniably smooth album drenched in west coast swagger. -Spencer Lobdell

To me, Donald Glover still has released the most creative and quality project of this year. That being said Smino’s release of She Already Decided was unexpected, but one of the most pleasantly surprising mixtapes to drop in a while. Jay Electronica and Jay-Z had entirely too many bars as A Written Testimony might have been the best rap exhibition of 2020. Bent Fiyaz, Giveon, and The Weeknd have represented male R&B in an excellent fashion. Pray for Paris and Heaven or Hell are on two opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but each is worth a listen because they deliver things you couldn't get from anyone else. Finally Jhene stayed true to form with the excellent album Chilombo. -Miles Hagan

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My current favorite album of 2020 is King Krule’s third studio album Man Alive! The 25 year old English indie sensation consolidates his eclectic sound on Man Alive, allowing the best aspects of all his various musical influences shine through the album’s seamless production. Bolstered by King Krule’s poetic lyricism and enchanting vocal performance, Man Alive! will be a difficult album to top. This year has seen a great body of releases from up and coming women in the rap game, much of which had been significantly more impressive than the work of their famous male counterparts. Hook and Bbymutha in particular have stood out so far as being two of the most talented, versatile, and exciting new artists out today. Don’t sleep on the girls! -Kaila Cherry

My power rankings have changed a pretty good bit since the last time I submitted them. I moved The Weeknd up as the record continued to grow on me and I added Smino right below it. I thought PND and Jhene both dropped very solid projects that deserved to be in the top 10, and most surprisingly, I loved the chemistry between Chris Brown and Young Thug on Slime B. I thought Kehlani and Nav’s albums were mediocre so they didn’t break my top 10, but hopefully I warm up to them as the year progresses! -Carter Fife

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For the most part, my list remained the same from April. I find that, typically, the albums that leave the best impression on me do a great job of balancing the traditional with the experimental or lean towards the latter characteristic. The artists who have been switching up their sounds or presenting interesting genre blends (e.g. The Weeknd, 070 Shake, Mixed Matches,) have stayed at the top of my list, and more underground artists continue to funnel in as well. Vocalist and producer Mixed Matches presents an atmospheric soundscape of ear candy on Jesse, a project filled with infectious melodies and soothing, layered vocal performances. Meanwhile, newcomer brakence delivers a unique, wonky blend of electronica and punk on his debut album punk2, which features tons of experimental trap production and autotuned vocals. -Owen Tait

I know, the absence of PTSD is alarming to all of my fellow Chicagoans but honestly, it doesn’t match up sonically to the 10 albums listed. Albums 1-4 may be some of my favorite ever, listening to each of the 4 was an experience; the songwriting and overall story makes them all 10/10’s for me. #1 was an easy choice for me, After Hours has Grade-A production and storytelling across the board. Number 6 is a new project from someone I recently discovered; right after listening to the first song I knew the project would be great. At number 10 is Lil Baby’s latest album, I really hated it when it first released, but I decided to give it another listen and it’s actually pretty solid. -Courtney Fields

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Nothing put out this year has quite compared to Mac Miller’s posthumous project Circles, that is until Westside Gunn put out the grimey, bar-heavy masterpiece that is Pray for Paris. Touting some of the best cyphers of the year in “327,” “$500 Ounces” and “George Bondo,” Westside Gunn easily secures a spot in the top 3. The ever soulful and funky It Is What It Is and She Already Decided from Smino and Thundercat have aged like fine wine, while UNLOCKED and Eternal Atake have seen their replay value diminished for me. -Luke Modugno

I am excited to to still Have CHILOMBO at the top of my list. Jhené did what needed to be done to help me survive this pandemic. So again, name another album as captivating and versatile that is also 20 tracks long with no skips! Circles and A Written Testimony remain at the top of my list because they are solid projects from seasoned artists. I had trouble ranking 38 Baby 2, PTSD, and My Turn. I enjoy listening to all three but I’m unsure which is truly better. The debut album, KIKI, by Kiana Ledé, is well constructed and relatable. I listed the project to keep the newcomer in conversation. I’m interested in seeing the rest of the teams picks to see what albums I have been overlooking. -Amaya Lorick

Now that we are approaching the halfway point through the year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to make these picks. At #1, I still have Mac Miller’s posthumous album Circles. I don’t listen to it every day, but the bitter sweetness of this album hits different for me. It’s a fantastic piece, and it is going to be very hard for any albums this year to take its spot. G Herbo also remains high on my list, he surprised me with PTSD and even though it has been out for some time, it still hits just as hard. Drake’s new mixtape made a big splash, I won’t be surprised if this stays on my list until the end of the year. I really dig the vibes on Slime & B, but time will tell how much longevity it has. -Colson O’Connor

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Duality Takes Center Stage in Thundercat’s Fantastic New Record ‘It Is What It Is’

By Luke Modugno

If a human being were to be the direct personification of the word “duality,” it would most certainly be Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat. From harmonizing over soulful instrumentation about wishing he could be a cat, to gripping with loss of a friend, to aging and socioeconomic disadvantage, Thundercat’s juxtaposition of painfully human emotions and scenarios can truly make you laugh and cry all at once. But his fourth studio album It Is What It Is is perhaps Bruner’s greatest display of his artistic versatility. 

Building off of the genre-melding sounds established by his 2017 project Drunk, Thundercats signature velvety melodies and funky production allow him to really come into his own sonically on this album. While Thundercat seems to pin down his soundscape on this LP, It Is What It Is is far from predictable. Alternating between toned down, nearly lofi production (“Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26”) and upbeat, jazzy tracks, (“Black Qualls,” “Dragonball Durag”) the project ticks all the boxes of a typical Thundercat release without sounding musically complacent. With help from friend and co-producer Flying Lotus, Thundercat takes considerably more sonic risks on It Is What It Is, allowing the album to be far more experimental than prior projects. But each risk pay off, creating standouts like “Innerstellar Love” and “Existential Dread.” The result is a cacophonic ride through Thundercats various emotional states, pushed along with inherently intriguing instrumentation and production.

Mood and sound are ever changing on It Is What It Is, as Thundercat attempts to come to terms with the death of his close friend Mac Miller. The title itself is a reflection of the lessons learned from the Pittsburgh musicians passing, “It’s just part of it, part of the story,” said Bruner in an interview with Apple Music. “That’s why the name of the album is what it is -- [Mac’s death] made me put my life in perspective. I’m happy I’m still here.” His happiness is reflected through his utilization of humor throughout the record, as it extenuates his grieving. No matter how good, bad, happy or sad the situation, Bruner always seems to find room for comedy. His lighthearted approach to misfortune saves the project from focusing too hard on philosophical reflection of the morality and fragility of life, something Thundercat is far too hilarious for. Instead, It Is What It Is exists somewhere else; somewhere between grieving and happiness, laughter and tears, the meaningful and the meaningless, life and death. Duality takes center stage in It Is What It Is, as Bruner must begrudgingly accept the highs and the lows of life because, quite simply put, it is what it is. 

In addition to humor, good company seems to uplift Thundercat during the rough patches in life, and they also happen to make this guest list on this record star-studded. Steve Lacy, Louis Cole, Pedro Martins and Flying Lotus add to the already soulful aesthetics of a Thundercat record, while Ty Dolla $ign and Childish Gambino put in valuable vocal performances on notable cuts “Black Qualls” and “Fair Chance.” The tracklist is full of melodic, atmospheric songs that inspire a wealth of emotions. From floating through space on “Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26” to being thrust into the saturated uptempo “Innerstellar Love,” the album is a bumpy, yet endearing musical ride. The funky guitar gracing “Black Qualls” make for a truly soulful track, with a valuable and thought-provoking emphasis on black education and confidence. “Fair Chance” is spacey, glossy, beautiful goodbye to Mac from two of his closest friends (Cat and Ty Dolla $ign). “Dragonball Durag” is hilariously catchy and provides an exuberant counterpart to Bruners introspection. But the crown jewel of the tracklist comes last, in It Is What It Is’ title track, as Thundercat succumbs to his pure devastation in the wake of the death of Mac Miller. “My best just wasn’t enough/ It couldn’t be helped, the end/ The things I would do for you/ So many things I wanna say/ This is the end,” sings Thundercat over a melancholy guitar solo. The song acts as Bruners final goodbyes to Mac, as he grips with the apex of guilt, pain and mourning he’s felt in the two years following Miller’s death. The unbridled despair in Thundercats voice is raw, endearing and heartbreaking. Combined with the intimate, somber production, “It Is What It Is” is a tear-jerking, brilliant memorial to Miller. About halfway through, the track fades and is followed by Thundercat and Pedro Martins trading bass solos. Interweaving with Martins, Thundercat spends the closing moments of It Is What It Is playing the same instrument that sparked his friendship with Miller, which clearly blossomed into something incredibly dear to Bruner. 

It Is What It Isis, through and through, a fantastic record. Its irresistibly funky, genre-fusing instrumentation combined with its playful, yet devastating subject matter make for a truly intriguing project. 

Favorite Songs

Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26

Black Qualls (feat. Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington & Childish Gambino)

It Is What It Is (feat. Pedro Martins) 

Rating: 9

Listen to It Is What It Is here: 

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The Idiosyncratic Genius of Flying Lotus: “Flamagra” Album Review

By Carter Fife

The first time I ever heard Flying Lotus I was in high school driving around downtown San Fransisco with a close friend of mine who had the privilege of selecting the soundtrack for the day. I can distinctly remember when “Coronus, The Terminator” came through the speakers, and I immediately turned to my friend and asked him: “What is this, and is there more of it?”. The song was so minimal in composition, while also demonstrating an emotional tone so passionate and meaningful that I had to hear more. Few artists have provoked such an instant interest within me, and since then I have delved deeply into every album, every project, and every track that he has been involved with thus far. Although Flying Lotus, also known as ‘FlyLo’, has not been exactly radio silent since his last album in 2014, the amount of excitement that a five year wait can instill into a fanbase as committed as his is almost unparalleled. 

Announced just a month ago, I spent the past few weeks ravenous for new information and music from the Los Angeles Native. Before listening to the album on release day, I combed through the liner notes. I felt joy seeing names I recognized, and researched the names I didn’t. I wanted to know what to expect, who would be playing what instrument on certain tracks, and who the writers, producers and engineers were as well. Gradually, the hype I felt shifted increasingly into a synthesis of excitement and anxiety as I read names like Solange, Thundercat, and even a personal hero of mine, Toro Y Moi as contributors to the album. This anxiety may seem uncommon, but after similar experiences with the Gorillaz’s 2017 return HUMANZ, and Travis Scott’s sophomore album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, I was worried that the 27 track, 67 minute album that many had waited so long for would be potentially too busy. While the previous albums weren’t necessarily disappointments, I was concerned that Flying Lotus’s sixth studio record may have been muddled with the ideas of others preventing the talent of FlyLo to shine through. 

I could not have been more wrong.

Flamagra sees Ellison at his peak, with almost every track being simultaneously quick and easy to digest, while also having the depth and richness of a legendary piece of classical music. This is not an understatement. Somehow each of the 27 tracks are just as resonant as the last, lending themselves to a cohesive whole, though some songs exist in  totally different musical genres. Every moment subverts your expectations, whether it is the melodies, arrangements, chord progression, percussion, or even the brief moments of lyricism on certain tracks. Back from a long hiatus, Ellison presents the listener with 27 tracks that are the aural equivalent of rich appetizers: easy to consume but almost impossible to completely understand. That is a good thing however, as I’ve listened to certain tracks dozens of times and am still picking out drums, effects, and vocals that were previously hidden.

The opening track “Heroes” is an eerie introduction to Flying Lotus’s return to form. The lush instrumentation and hazy feel gives the song an almost vaporware-flavor. Suddenly as the percussion picks up, samples from Dragonball Z come in as the musical tone shifts as well. The track turns over into a more jazz-oriented composition, with Thundercat simply massacring the track with a hectic but funky guitar riff. The guitar ends, “Heroes” turns over once more into a spacious and ambient track as if to say, “catch your breath, there’s no slowing down”, and the next track begins. 

“Post Requisite”, the second track, borrows many musical themes and ideas previously explored in Flylo’s genre-defining Cosmogramma and Los Angeles albums. Fans of favorites like “Auntie’s Harp” and “Do the Astral Plane” will be unable to resist this banger, as Post Requisite's funk-laden baselines and constantly changing drum patterns make it clear that Thundercat had a hand in this song’s creation. In addition to this, the jazzy low-fi elements of this track almost feels like Flying Lotus has returned home with a few new tricks up his sleeve. 

“Heroes in a Half Shell” is another track with the classic random humor of Ellison in the title, and although it is only half as long as the previous track, it still contains a busy and hectic piano arrangement with notes drifting in and out of earshot, as if one was floating down a river with multiple piano concerts happening just feet away. The song transitions nicely into “More” featuring a truly killer performance by Anderson .Paak, who delivers a mediation on love and self-reflection. He sings on the infectiously catchy hook, "Breakin' you down to size / There's gotta be more to life than myself / That's when I caught light of myself / Gotta be somethin' more that I can't tell”. Paak’s effortless confidence pairs well with the background vocals from Norelle, and clocking in at just over 4 minutes, this track is one of only three songs on the album to break the four minute mark.

The next track “Capillaries” is a slightly off-kilter and glitchy cut from the album, with delicate piano melodies that are vaguely reminiscent of entering a quiet bathroom during a busy party. The track also features very heavy percussion that conveys a hard-hitting marching feel when paired with the other instruments. This rhythm continues into “Burning Down the House”, where kicks and claps come together with a sometimes funky, sometimes ambient instrumentation. It is a nice detour before “Spontaneous” featuring the Swedish electronic-fusion band Little Dragon, an ethereal track with vocals so dreamlike that only Little Dragon could deliver. This track is all over the place, sometimes sounding like 80’s rock music, and other times like jazz or funk, but by the time the song ends, it feels just as consistent as it did in the opening seconds. 

“Takashi” is the longest track on the album by far, and at just under six-minutes, it is easily also one of the most infectiously fun and playful cuts off the album. Flylo’s use of the classic analog Rhodes synthesizer paired with the mechanical and calculated feeling of the drums makes this song truly unique and an invaluable part of Flamagra as a whole. The upbeat and electric feeling of the song fits almost every situation, whether it be a crowded house party, or a quiet morning at home. The song ends before you know it, slowly winding down while still maintaining its funky atmosphere before transitioning into “Pilgrim Side Eye”. One of the goofiest and most eclectic tracks on the album, this moment features writing credits from Herbie Hancock and features instruments that are played in reverse in instances akin to a modern Captain Beefheart. Right when you think you have the track figured out, the beat switches into spacious and dreamlike pads that transition nicely into track ten, “All Spies”. 

Featuring a much more conventional drum track, “All Spies” has a distinctly nostalgic 8-bit feel that was commonly invoked on Ellison’s 2014 album You’re Dead!. It is fun, experimental, and features a bit of a musical shift in the track list. “Yellow Belly” featuring Philadelphia native Tierra Whack is a very heavy throwback to FlyLo’s “Dead Man’s Tetris”, with playful rapping paired over stilted percussion and weighty low-pitch synth melodies. Whack raps humerously "In the sky, I'm so high, everyone looks up to me / You a virgin, you could not compete (I put my titties in his face)” before the song quickly changes into the comparably darker experimental rap-track “Black Balloons Reprise” featuring Denzel Curry. 

This track is everything one could hope for from a Flying Lotus and Denzel Curry collaboration, where themes from Curry’s 2018 TA13OO shine through when he raps "The night turns to day and my days don't seem the brightest / ... I wanna take a bite out of what life is / If the President fuck around and piss off ISIS / Bury me in blueberry bills, jewels, and ices”. With multiple layers of background vocal layers, the song carries with it a simultaneously funky, and choir-inspired classic rap track. Curry closes his verse by lamenting "I kick that funky shit until my casket closed”, and he is not wrong.

The next track “Fire is Coming” contains a horrifying spoken word piece by David Lynch about a family realizing that a fire is approaching their house. This is a theme that Flamagra is centered around, a concept that Ellison describes as “...a lingering concept about fire, an eternal flame sitting on a hill […] Some people love it, some people hate it”. The track, like the concept, contains a science-fiction adjacent composition with ambient and space-like pads and heavy bass, with the classic Thundercat and Flying Lotus funk that is so present on the record. Released as one of the singles leading up to the album’s release, “Fire is Coming” ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy about Lotus’s own upcoming album. 

“Inside Your Home” is a much more spacious and elegant track, with occasionally hectic and busy moments that one would come to expect from Flying Lotus. It acts as a short interlude before “Actually Virtual” featuring vocals from the legendary Seattle-based group, Shabazz Palaces. Delivering lines like "From east blew in a plush wind, with nomads that blow grass /To gold flow that's so passionate, styles dash, we so cash”, this track is incredibly engaging despite the sparse instrumentation that occupies the background of the song. The following track Andromeda is a very chill and relaxed track that almost sounds like it could be an indie-rock song at times. It is just as enjoyable as it is short, as just after a minute passes, it is over. 

The last third of the album begins with “Remind U”, a similarly chill and laid-back track that gradually unfolds and flourishes as the song becomes more and more upbeat. The drums pick up, the bass lines go faster, and right before they reach a climax they recoil back as a glittering piano track ends the song as quickly as it began. “Say Something” is a beautifully haunting track containing some of the most vaudevillian string melodies since Panic! At The Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out almost a decade ago. Although the song is also fairly short, the wonky piano melodies in the background make the track a nice but ominous detour before Debbie is Depressed. This track is a simultaneously funky and upbeat soulful track, though the vocals contain some of the most dejected lyricism on the album. The song is about the monotony of quotidian life, and how it is both a blessing and a curse. The track ends quickly with an angelic string arrangement that stands in strong opposition to the sadness laid out in the track. “Find Your Own Way Home” continues this string track into a track that softly blooms and wilts in under two minutes.

“The Climb” features vocals from Thundercat, and fans of his last album Drunk will be sure to love this song. The vocal harmonies are incredibly lush, and Thundercat’s falsetto singing sounds amazing over the jazzy and hip-hop influenced drums and the dense string sections. Created in perhaps an optimistic light after “Debbie is Depressed”, Thundercat sings "Most of the things we're going through make no sense / Even though you feel alone, it's not the end / And when you're feeling out of place and nowhere you can hide / Just close your eyes and take a breath and you'll be alright”. “The Climb” is definitely one of the high points on the album, as Thundercat and Flying Lotus are able to pair jazz, soul, disco, and hip-hop into one easily accessible track that will be in heavy rotation for many fans of the like this summer. After the song ends, the two take a breather with “Pygmy”, a fun and exotic-sounding track containing echoing nature samples and chill contemporary piano melodies. 

Thins begin to pick up again on “9 Carrots” featuring Toro Y Moi, where the track begins with powerfully delicate strings and angelic vocal harmonies before transitioning into a funky and vintage soul beat. Ellison and Bear trade lines while singing about the loss of love, detailing its emotional strain with lyrics like "There's a woman that I know / Who now wants me feeling happier when the day breaks / … / Don't you give it away, give it away”. Both Bear and Ellison’s signature styles of chill wave and experimental electronic funk find a new home on this track, and together they both sound utterly incredible. 

“Ff4” is one of the four closing tracks on the album, featuring a soft and elegant instrumental arrangement of piano flourishes and chords, as well as low-fi drum patterns that almost make this sound like a direct cut off of the youtube playlist ‘low-fi songs to chill/study to’. The track ends, an ominous and beautiful string arrangement fades in and out, and Solange begins to sing on “Land of Honey”. There is not much to say about this song that can accurately portray how well Flying Lotus and Solange pair together, as their combined talents offer themselves on a track that is the musical equivalent to slowly sauntering around a beautifully overgrown garden. Solange even nods to the concept directing Flamagra, singing "When you see smoke, there's fire”, and softly singing “Hallelujah” as the song quietly ends. 

“Thank You Malcolm” is very similar to “Remind U”, as both tracks start soft before increasing in intensity, and right before their peak, the song transitions into the next track. Both these tracks, while beautiful in their own rights, act as springboards into the following tracks, and in the case of “Thank You Malcolm”, the song launches the the listener into the final track, “Hot Oct.”.

Like the very first moments on Flamagra, “Hot Oct.” contains many elements of vaporware music that convey a sense of the fantastical and the surreal. Ambient pads and down-pitched vocals slowly lead the listener out of the album, as the song slowly and peacefully fades away. Like Denzel Curry said on Black Balloons Reprise, “We all die”, and just like that Flamagra is over.

It is no easy task to host as many musicians and collaborators as Flying Lotus has on Flamagra, while still maintaining the personal integrity and identity of the album as your own album. This balancing act is made effortless by Flying Lotus, as each collaborator, such as Thundercat and his camp, Anderson .Paak and his camp, Little Dragon, Toro Y Moi, Tierra Whack, Denzel Curry and Herbie Hancock, is in a position that makes sense within the narrative of the album. None of them overpower the work of Flying Lotus, as each one is able to play with and flourish under the canvas that Flying Lotus has laid out for them. While at first I was skeptical as to how Ellison could pull this off, he proved me wrong by creating Flamagra, an album that is so layered and complex that it seems much more appropriate to call it an elaborate dinner party that Flying Lotus is hosting for his friends. 

Very few other artists host the talents that Flying Lotus has, and even fewer artists could pull off such an exceptional feat such as this project. Every song is its own moment of diverse instrumentation and emotional tone, and I am happy to say that Flamagra was worth the wait. Few artists alive are as idiosyncratic and talented as Flying Lotus, so it logically follows that if any artist could pull this off after all, it would be him. Be sure to check him out at a live show sometime, his visuals and music will be sure to capitate even the most skeptical critics. In the meantime, I’ll be anxiously awaiting the release of his next project.

Favorite Tracks:

(too many to choose)

Post Requisite

The Climb (Feat. Thundercat)

9 Carrots (Feat. Toro Y Moi)

Rating 10

Listen to Flamagra here:

Flamagra, an album by Flying Lotus on Spotify

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