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BROCKHAMPTON - Saturation II (BROCKHAMPTON/Empire)
Released: August 25th, 2017
California based hip-hop super group and "boy band" BROCKHAMPTON is back with their second album of 2017, Saturation II. This is a follow up to their album Saturation, which was the first of three albums that they will be producing this year. A third installment of Saturation is expected before the end of 2017. Prior to their Saturation projects I have never heard of this group before. Made up of multiple musicians including Kevin Abstract, Matt Champion, Ameer Van, and many more.
Saturation didn't catch my ear immediately, but after a few listens I was addicted. Not just solely rap, but jazz and R&B influences are heavy throughout the album. Active synthesizers and drum samples add to the collective's vibe and style, which continues on Saturation II.
This sixteen song album is full of fantastic cuts with unique sounds and samples.
The first five tracks are extremely solid. "GUMMY" uses some very buzzy and wavy synth work along with a simple beat. The extra key melodies throughout provide the song with such a smooth vibe. The vocal effects and melody on the chorus section are a very nice touch.
"QUEER" contains an aggressive and rough beat that reminds me a little bit of DeathGrips. It's in your face and edgy. When the chorus arrives, the instrumentation disappears and a beautiful vocal performance comes into fruition. The track is dynamic in the fact that it contains edge and a form of boldness, but also tags along with prettier and gentler sections. Together they form an awesome song.
One of my favorites from the album "JELLO" contains this "la di da di da di da" vocal take that is so simple but so captivating. It comes across as very unadulterated, youthful and just flat out fun. The section is so close to being extremely annoying but I think it fits perfectly. Again, the percussion is simple and looping, but the collective find a way to just tear up the verses. The vocal effect throughout makes their voices sound very alien-like and slightly pitched up. This track exemplifies their creative and shows how much fun they're having while recording.
Ghostly synthesizers haunt the instrumentation on "SWAMP". The sounds are very wavy, soft and subtlety creepy. The melodies are nice, the chorus is memorable, and the beat is simple but solid. Another solid track from the boy band.
Some other highlights from the album include "JUNKY" and "SWEET". "JUNKY" starts off with this scary melody below Kevin Abstract's vocals. A very haunting and dark vibe is created right from the get-go. The tracks instrumentation disintegrates and then reappears with Ameer's verse. When the drum samples enter along with the bass line it elevates the song to another level. As I said before, the vibe is very strange and dark but the production and commitment to aesthetic is on point.
"SWEET" is a fun song that contains this very strange instrumental melody created by something that sounds like a 'snake charmer'...I guess. Again, the beat and percussion is so simple but it fits within the mix so well. Each verse is unique to create a multi-faceted track.
"TOKYO" and "CHICK" are some other solid cuts from the record. Both tracks contain creative synth-work along with a catchy drum pattern...which seems to be a recurring theme throughout Saturation II. They keep it simple but the overall production and mixes are dense and thorough.
The last three tracks contain some very pretty and gorgeous instrumentation. Guitar makes an appearance and "SUMMER" even contains a guitar solo to close out the whole album.
Overall this album was great. The drum samples, the synth sounds, the vocal effects and chops all throughout the record worked so well. There wasn't much that felt uncomfortable or out of place, but if it was, it still exemplified this groups creativity and passion for sonic exploration.
The only issued I had with this album is that I thought it could have been condensed much more. The last three songs were nice but they could've picked the best one from those three in order to keep on the album. There weren't too many duds throughout, but if they focused it down to 10-12 songs, it would have been a more effective album.
The lyrics throughout are very fun at times and serious at times. Kevin discusses his sexuality multiple times on this record and he does so on some of their most popular tracks. The groups chemistry is unique in that each person sounds like their own character or persona, but together they sound like BROCKHAMPTON. They sound cohesive and well connected. Their verses meshed well with one another and their overall sound felt very unified. With the creative hot streak this boy band is on right now, I can't see them losing. Listen below...
Listen: BROCKHAMPTON - GUMMY & BROCKHAMPTON - JUNKY
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap/Group Rap/Synth-Rap/Alternative Hip-Hop/West Coast
Rating: 7.5/10
Fav Songs: GUMMY, QUEER, JELLO, TEETH, SWAMP, JUNKY, SWEET, TOKYO
Saturation didn't catch my ear immediately, but after a few listens I was addicted. Not just solely rap, but jazz and R&B influences are heavy throughout the album. Active synthesizers and drum samples add to the collective's vibe and style, which continues on Saturation II.
This sixteen song album is full of fantastic cuts with unique sounds and samples.
The first five tracks are extremely solid. "GUMMY" uses some very buzzy and wavy synth work along with a simple beat. The extra key melodies throughout provide the song with such a smooth vibe. The vocal effects and melody on the chorus section are a very nice touch.
"QUEER" contains an aggressive and rough beat that reminds me a little bit of DeathGrips. It's in your face and edgy. When the chorus arrives, the instrumentation disappears and a beautiful vocal performance comes into fruition. The track is dynamic in the fact that it contains edge and a form of boldness, but also tags along with prettier and gentler sections. Together they form an awesome song.
One of my favorites from the album "JELLO" contains this "la di da di da di da" vocal take that is so simple but so captivating. It comes across as very unadulterated, youthful and just flat out fun. The section is so close to being extremely annoying but I think it fits perfectly. Again, the percussion is simple and looping, but the collective find a way to just tear up the verses. The vocal effect throughout makes their voices sound very alien-like and slightly pitched up. This track exemplifies their creative and shows how much fun they're having while recording.
Ghostly synthesizers haunt the instrumentation on "SWAMP". The sounds are very wavy, soft and subtlety creepy. The melodies are nice, the chorus is memorable, and the beat is simple but solid. Another solid track from the boy band.
Some other highlights from the album include "JUNKY" and "SWEET". "JUNKY" starts off with this scary melody below Kevin Abstract's vocals. A very haunting and dark vibe is created right from the get-go. The tracks instrumentation disintegrates and then reappears with Ameer's verse. When the drum samples enter along with the bass line it elevates the song to another level. As I said before, the vibe is very strange and dark but the production and commitment to aesthetic is on point.
"SWEET" is a fun song that contains this very strange instrumental melody created by something that sounds like a 'snake charmer'...I guess. Again, the beat and percussion is so simple but it fits within the mix so well. Each verse is unique to create a multi-faceted track.
"TOKYO" and "CHICK" are some other solid cuts from the record. Both tracks contain creative synth-work along with a catchy drum pattern...which seems to be a recurring theme throughout Saturation II. They keep it simple but the overall production and mixes are dense and thorough.
The last three tracks contain some very pretty and gorgeous instrumentation. Guitar makes an appearance and "SUMMER" even contains a guitar solo to close out the whole album.
Overall this album was great. The drum samples, the synth sounds, the vocal effects and chops all throughout the record worked so well. There wasn't much that felt uncomfortable or out of place, but if it was, it still exemplified this groups creativity and passion for sonic exploration.
The only issued I had with this album is that I thought it could have been condensed much more. The last three songs were nice but they could've picked the best one from those three in order to keep on the album. There weren't too many duds throughout, but if they focused it down to 10-12 songs, it would have been a more effective album.
The lyrics throughout are very fun at times and serious at times. Kevin discusses his sexuality multiple times on this record and he does so on some of their most popular tracks. The groups chemistry is unique in that each person sounds like their own character or persona, but together they sound like BROCKHAMPTON. They sound cohesive and well connected. Their verses meshed well with one another and their overall sound felt very unified. With the creative hot streak this boy band is on right now, I can't see them losing. Listen below...
Listen: BROCKHAMPTON - GUMMY & BROCKHAMPTON - JUNKY
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap/Group Rap/Synth-Rap/Alternative Hip-Hop/West Coast
Rating: 7.5/10
Fav Songs: GUMMY, QUEER, JELLO, TEETH, SWAMP, JUNKY, SWEET, TOKYO
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