Released June 9, 2017
7 / 10
Favorites
HEAT, BOYS, FAKE, FACE, WASTE
Least favorites
TRIP, BUM
Brockhampton are equally effortlessly cool and effortlessly cheesy on the first installment of the SATURATION trilogy. Yet they manage to make the cheesy feel almost necessary: whatever they're selling you're going to want to spread it on some bread and bite into it. The record swarms with palpable energy, helped by the rotation of performers from the collective of rappers, producers, singers, directors, designers and creators (where members often wear more than one badge at a time). They feel right at home in their music, full of self-expression and audibly working with each other in an effort to better themselves as artists and ,maybe more importantly, as people. The result is versatile, without falling into the trap of a revolving door strategy: although their sound interpolates a plethora of existing music, "SATURATION" has an uncanny 'brockhamptonness' that crystallizes the collection of tracks into an album and not an extended discombobulated mixtape. Yes, they are self-deprecating and put self-doubt on display, but they can also be an overbearingly braggadocious group, resorting to weird sexual flexes and cockfights with invisible challengers - those are some of the times where they lose a bit of their trademark effortless cool. On the other end of the emotional spectrum, some of the slower tracks rely a bit too much on honesty and vulnerability and not enough on musicality and innovation. The album's first tracks express unbounded ambitions and a sense of self-assurance that justifies shooting for the stars. HEAT sets the stage and touches upon a bit of everything: each member's verse feels personal, addressing whatever aspects of their life they wanted to put forward to an aggressive grimy beat - overall mostly concerned with mental health and autonomy. The track immediately made me think of Tyler, The Creator but the comparison is short-lived in truth. Ameer kicks the verses off with a deep tone that holds the track in his grasp for a while before Merlyn switches up delivery style drastically, throwing more chaos and unpredictability into the mix. There is hardly any notable melodic and instrumental changes you'd expect from a 4:30 track to keep it going but HEAT doesn't need any of that. Dynamism is created and kept rolling by the rotation of band members and the peaks and valleys in their delivery style. The brief raucous passage before the outro, grating all over the place for a moment, is just the cherry on top. GOLD straddles the line between knowing you're the shit and having to be reminded of it. Full of pop culture references, the track calms the hype from the intro down, while still getting you hooked by opening with the chorus to minimize thermal shock. The boogie sounds effortless; another win for the team. STAR is no let-down either, with a playful sequence of name-dropping suggesting a sequel by another band further down the line, only this time with the names of Kevin Abstract, Dom McLennon and Ameer Vann dropped in it too. The somber mood and the audible determination in all three deliveries contrasts with the playfulness and voluntarily bad puns. Dom and Ameer's verses sound like they come the guts: both rappers don't have to do much to feel right at home on this track. On the other hand, Kevin is not an obvious choice to go with this mood. He does get more comfortable with his flow as his verse progresses, but he's mostly recovering from a rocky start. BOYS sounds like the culmination of the previous tracks, presenting the band as a united front. The flute runs the game on this one. Vocal effects make a grand entrance with a dense chorus in which Kevin's vocals mesh with layers upon layers of adjoining vocals blurred into an incoherent backdrop - the result is highly enjoyable. Merlyn's deconstructed quantized vocals on the bridge are another highlight of the song that comes along unexpectedly. Dom's verse is the best heard on "SATURATION" so far - he's starting to stand out as the most able rapper of the band at this point. Leave it to Joba and Merlyn to seal the deal on the outro: it doesn't get better than BOYS in "SATURATION" - and it would be hard to. The victory lap goes into 2PAC, an interlude in which Ameer dedicates a verse to his mom, drawing parallels with 2Pac's "Dear Mama". His voice is pitched as to become unrecognizable, as is Kevin's. Not much appeal to this downer of a track. Stripped of their built-up confidence it's even an unwelcome change after BOYS. SKIT 1 throws in a sense of suspense, announcing the next leg of the album, marked by change and uncertainty. Brockhampton have had to deal with uprooting their lives and adapting to life as creatives in California: like most drastic life changes, it rocked the guys' world. FAKE expresses the control of the music industry and maybe more generally pressure on public personas. "Don't say that" is repeated throughout, like the voice of a music exec concerned with how what the band members say - however truthful - might impact record sales. You'll notice that every voice is distorted in this track, hinting at the mask they've been told to wear - nothing to do with Corona, in that regard, WEAR A MASK. The sonics evolve in a hazy space, starting with Kevin's apathetic chorus. Going through those vocal effects effectively adds unnamed members to the already-crowded group, doubling the perceived number of performers on the album. Interestingly, ego is out of the equation: they're all willing to blur the line between who raps/sings which part in the interest of their artistry. Dom dominates the track once again - the end of his verse is particularly enjoyable. BANK goes into further details of how lives have changed after their move, looking back at habits that have been tricky to shake off. Kevin's chorus is unsettling: I don't think the back vocal loop was necessary and the combination of the almost-martial percussions, the autotuned vocals and the loop is a lot to take in. Yet gain, Dom steals the show both in delivery impact and with where he's willing to go lyrically. Coming after that, Kevin is not as convincing with his rapping - the danger of juxtaposition.. - and also not helped by the pull of Ameer's effortless verse. This short leg is interrupted by a second skit, that puts question of self-worth and the need for outside validation and acceptance to the forefront of "SATURATION"'s discourse. It sounds like the band has found what will get them out of bed beyond the music itself: accepting and loving themselves to chase the darker thoughts. TRIP celebrates uniqueness and the feeling of security that comes with being comfortable with who you are - regardless of others' perception of who you are or what you represent to them. At this point, the record could've used more energy: Kevin's hooks are becoming a bit boring to the ear. Another thing: instrumentals remain as sparse and simple as they were at the start of the album but the vocalists are not switching up cadence and exchanging verses at the frequency of the earlier tracks so there isn't much excitement generated by performers nor the instrumental backdrop that serves as canvases for their verses. TRIP also could've done without the "Aye" shouts in its outro. SWIM shifts the narrative to focus on their loves lives: past, present and future. I can't find a better analogy to how the song makes me feel in the context of "SATURATION" than that of the sun emerging from a cloudy sky. The track is a bit sappy for sure but it's not a problem for me here. The guys are OK with their past because there's no going back so why waste energy on irreversible events? Dom keeps coming up with the bluntest exposing verses throughout this record. SWIM, musically and lyrically, pulls on the corny lever a bit excessively but it's okay. There's just a convergence of elements that make it sound so reassuring that I'm willing to go teensy for a while. Kevin's redemption comes with - finally - a dope chorus, bringing the entire song together under the sun. It's a shame that they pushed things a bit too far with the autotune: Dom and Merlyn didn't deserve to be treated like that. BUMP signals the band getting their mojo back. They brag about their lives while taking a step back to acknowledge how exceptional things have turned around for them and making peace with the idea it has to end someday. The transition from the hard-hitting bass-heavy verses to Kevin's airbag of a chorus is way too brutal. It feels very crafty. Dom's verse sounds messy - what?! yes, really! BUMP is too confusing for its own good, alternating between narrow and wide spaces, stretching the listener's patience and testing our willingness to go along with anything the guys do. The highs and lows of "SATURATION" add up to the idea that finding your place in the world is a constant battle. It's easier at times, harder at others, but it's a fight worth having. FACE deals with lost love and the re-construction of the self focusing on the search of purpose within, not without. The vibe of this track is very peculiar: it's not melancholic per se, it feels more like a coming to terms with feelings and being attentive to emotions to avoid falling prey to them. Production is flawless - and has been on the greater part of the record -, an impressive feat knowing all of it was down in-house. The album closes with WASTE, a distinct sound that leads into the second installment of the SATURATION trilogy, featuring a Brockhampton member we didn't get to hear earlier (bearface). Insecurities creep back up. The tone has drastically changed from top to bottom - from a corrosive assured start to angelic croon. The sultry background of live instrumentation is also a 180 from where we started. The harmonies and vocal distortions make this is a fine finish, dripping with cheese, and I'm not missing a drop.
Favorite lyrics
"I hate the way I think, I hate the way it looms I hate the way the things I say incinerate a room"
HEAT
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