Rapid Review - 3/9/21

MVTTHEW – Bangkok Sounds: The short, seven-track art pop album by young singer-songwriter MVTTHEW sees him progressing into higher-production areas and more thoughtful songwriting. The overall production and experimentation with elements like an orchestral end of the first track and the spoken-word intro on the third track shows his maturity in his music creation. However, many aspects of his lyricism and instrumental consistency (in quality) are noticeably underdeveloped. This causes a thematic dissonance that hurts his work in my opinion, distracting listeners from the vibe and messages he is trying to convey. Otherwise, I would summarize the songs to mildly accessible cuts about drugs and young love by an artist with a lot of potential. ~5.5

Glass Beach – alchemist rats beg bashful (remixes): The modern indie group drops a remix-version of their timeless debut the first glass beach album. It reminds me of what 100 gecs did with their 1000 gecs album last year (an album of remixes of the tracks on the original album by a broad array of artists). Tangentially, the artwork for the album is great. Many songs are artistically remixed by adding many more musical elements and improvising in extremely clever ways (like the intro song and neon glow [floral tattoo version]). On the other hand, other tracks use the original songs to create a purely electronic version that is dance music-like. I really enjoyed tracks 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, and 15. This project is a lot less organized and thought out as the 100 gecs remix album but still enjoyable. 6.5-7

Drake – Scary Hours 2: An EP of sorts of only three songs starts with some nice flow and Drake’s usual, thoughtless lyrics on What’s Next. The beat is great, but Drake’s flow is an obvious amalgamation of trendy styles (Carti and Lil Uzi influences). Wants and Needs is where he attempts to slip in “clever” bars. Simply, his performance is so abysmal it makes Lil Baby sound good. The singing is low-effort but passable. Rick Ross appears on Lemon Pepper Freestyle with the only formidable part of the entire Scary Hours 2. Overall, it will be a forgettable release that is merely for the appeasement of fans who love his formula. 4-5

Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights: I revisited this classic last week and was reminded how great Obstacle 1 and 2 are. Would recommend to anyone who likes rock.