Rapid Review – 6/9/20

What’s good music heads! I hope everyone is having a good summer (or winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere). I usually have a contemporary album review on Tuesdays; however, I wrote two last week so I am going to make up for it this week with a rapid review. Here is the segment:

Indie rock outfit Mt. Joy releases their sophomore album Rearrange Us. Coming off their great self-titled debut album, Mt. Joy continues their indie-folk sound on this album. In my opinion, Mt. Joy’s work sounds like a combination of WU LYF and Sufjan Stevens or at least being influenced by those artists. The sound is blended interestingly with louder folk instrumentals along with loud alternative or post rock guitar riffs scattered throughout the tracklist. The album begins creepily, and then, it transitions into a phenomenally bright intro song that reminds the listener what Mt. Joy is all about. My favorite tracks are all next to each other; they include My Vibe with its light post-rock buildup that has a great synthesizer accompaniment, Let Loose with its nice jazz guitar and amazing cascading piano arpeggios, and Every Holiday with its elegant vibe and lovely, warm trumpets in the outro. Combined with the lyricism about nature and human sensation, Rearrange Us is an impressive sophomore record that hopefully instills Mt. Joy in the indie rock scene for years. I would give this around an 8.

Rapper, autotune singer, and songwriter Lil Yachty released his new album Lil Boat 3 almost two weeks ago. I honestly forgot about it for a while, and when I was bored and wanted to listen to some hip-hop, I figured I would give it a try. The album exceeded my expectations as all his records in his discography except his debut are not good. I left Lil Boat 3 feeling slightly more positive than complete indifference since production was great, and the features were good. The intro track hit hard for me with Yachty’s energetic delivery that was loud and backed by a very playful beat. Lil Boat 3 continues with playful, energetic production along with some infectious adlibs that sound similar to those from Playboi Carti’s Die Lit. Some notable tracks included:

- The surprising features of some artistic rappers like Tyler, the Creator and Tierra Whack on T.D

- The demonstration of rap skill and fast flows with Draft Day on Demon Time (I like the buffy the body reference).

- Range Rover Sports Truck included a great Pi’erre Bourne beat

- Weird bubbly beat is catchy on Lemon Head

- Westside is a “trap banger” and Lil Durk has good singing with Young Thug’s more audible than usual rapping on Till the Morning.

The album was not top-heavy like most mainstream rap albums nowadays, so I respected that aspect. On the other hand, Yachty wastes most of his extremely well-produced beats in Lil Boat 3, so I would give it a 5-5.5.

MVTTHEW is a singer-songwriter from Thailand who released his second project Rest Easy, which was entirely written during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sophomore project sees MVTTHEW progress musically since his debut Drug Abuse. He raps a little on this album, experiments more with intros and outros, and continues with his lyrics about teenage depression and love life. His introspection is very raw as he is literally a teenager spilling out his feelings during a time of isolation. The first track references some of his inspirations like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayer. My favorite tracks are It Don’t Last (I don’t wanna die alone chorus and rapping) and So Help Me God (incredibly unique intro of inaudible high-pitch voices?). Honestly, MVTTHEW might not know it, but his sound is leaning towards some incredible lo-fi bedroom pop (at least, that is what I believe his potential can achieve). His lyricism is cringey at times, production is still unrefined, and he could invest in better vocal recording equipment or just embrace a sincere lo-fi delivery. However, I think he has much potential for a musician at such a young age, especially if he is producing all his music. The more I listen to this record the more lovely and surprisingly nuanced it gets. I would give it around a 6.

Lastly, here are some random music recommendations. Old Solar is a band that I just discovered that creates some extraordinary instrumental-only post-rock. Their album See follows a concept of seasonal changes constituting the distinct atmosphere of each song. I have also revisited experimental rapper JPEGMAFIA’s album All My Heroes Are Cornballs, and the track Grimy Waifu sounds so much better. It is a musical journey that feels much longer than it actually is; it is bursting with experimental production with infectious strings, flute, and electronic bass. This track is one of the most perfect hip-hop songs I have ever heard.