BROCKHAMPTON - iridescence ALBUM REVIEW

Genres: Experimental Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop

Release Date: 9/21/18

Label: Question Everything

While America's Favorite Boyband may have lost one of its key members, they’ve rebounded and created an album unlike anything else being made in the genre right now.

BROCKHAMPTON is a hip-hop collective originally formed in Texas who made waves in 2016 with their debut mixtape All-American Trash. Shortly after, they relocated to California and released the SATURATION trilogy of albums the following year - which catapulted the group into the public eye and garnered them major critical acclaim. In the spring of 2018, they announced they were working on their fourth studio album PUPPY, to the excitement of their (now massive) fanbase. Unfortunately, shortly after the announcement of the project, one of the group’s key rappers Ameer Vann was accused by several women of misconduct and assault. The group booted Vann, scrapped PUPPY and announced their second trilogy, titled The Best Years of Our Lives. iridescence is the first album in this trilogy, and let’s just say they started off with a bang.

As soon as you press play on iridescence, you hear the voice of rapper Matt Champion.

“Perfectly fine. That’s fine.”

Before you can process what he even said, the pounding drums and glitchy, buzzing synths kick in and rapper Dom McLennon’s verse has already started. The song, “NEW ORLEANS”, spins into a fury of rebellious energy and rage. “Tell ‘em boys don’t run from us, I been down too long, cousin, I been down too long, brother, tell the world I ain’t scared of nothing,” lead rapper/singer Kevin Abstract spits on the song’s infectious, yet grimy chorus.

“NEW ORLEANS” finishes then seamlessly transitions into the mellow “THUG LIFE”, where in an intense and confrontational verse, McLennon directly acknowledges his depression and the Stockholm syndrome he’s developed while dealing with it. The drastic change of mood creates a significant contrast between the two polarizing sides of BROCKHAMPTON - absolutely off-the-wall bursts of insanity directly followed by beautiful moments of introspection, a quality they’ve possessed since SATURATION.

We get the wild, energetic side of the group on fiery tracks like “BERLIN”, “WHERE THE CASH AT” and the distorted “DISTRICT”, and we see the more conscious side of them on “WEIGHT”, a heavy track where the members address their own demons (whether they be struggles with sexuality, self-harm or drug addiction). The song also features one of the best beat switches of the year, transitioning from a mellow orchestral piece to a scurrying drum ‘n’ bass break. Not a lot of songs give me genuine chills, but this track’s bridge where Kevin’s vocals become almost completely drowned out in watery effects always manage to momentarily take my breath away.

A similar moment occurs on “TAPE”, which samples drum patterns from “Videotape” by Radiohead (my favorite band, like, ever) off their 2007 masterpiece In Rainbows. Much like “WEIGHT”, every member raps about their respective anxieties - Kevin speaks about how he regrets dissing his mother in earlier tracks, who he claimed was a homophobic bigot, now that her health is rapidly diminishing. JOBA paints a terrifying vision of himself speeding down the highway while drunk to escape his harrowing depression, heated up in the moment and not worrying about the earth-shattering consequences that will most likely be coming his way by the end of the verse. Matt Champion details his fear of starting new relationships after breaking up with a significant other, and his paranoia that partners may be using him for his newfound wealth. It’s a profound and essential track that all listeners will be able to identify with in some form.

One of the definite, raucous highlights of the album is “J’OUVERT”, a raging monster of a track. Over trippy, psychedelic yet booming production, rapper/singer JOBA delivers one of the most insane, loud and borderline psychotic verses I’ve ever heard in hip-hop. While I can’t quote most of his lines on this track (this is still a school newspaper), “til the casket drops, I will play god,” and “pray for peace with a knife in my hand, speak my peace like a gun to my head” should give you a good idea of the content in his verse.

“TONYA” is a song that was originally debuted on The Tonight Show back in June, now getting its first studio release. Introed by a chilling piano solo, many of the song’s lyrics revolve around the scandal surrounding Ameer Vann (“I feel like brothers lie just so my feelings don’t get hurt,”) and the group’s own struggles with fame (“don’t think too fast, private jets still crash.”) The group’s own vocalist Bearface and featured experimental soul musician Serpentwithfeet provide gorgeous, glistening choruses and bridges over icy, somber synths and pianos. It’s a full experience that you need to let soak before its true weight sinks in.

As a fan of the band since SATURATION II, I can easily say that iridescence is an absolute amalgamation of everything they’ve been involved in over the past 2 years. The moshpit-ready bangers are louder and filthier than ever, the moments of contemplation are even more powerful and heart-wrenching, and almost every track feels like the polar opposite of the last. BROCKHAMPTON not only survived one of the year’s biggest controversies in hip-hop, they rebounded and spun the (frankly, stirring) experience into one of the best albums of the year.