A s someone that follows music closely on social media, I have always wondered why music reviewers don't wait until the following year to begin a recap of their favorite albums of the past year. Doing this, any one album released at the end of the year could have been one to make it on to a list like this, had the reviewer waited to make their list. Albums like BUBBA are the exact ones I’m talking about.
Even from 2016’s 99.9%, I was able to tell that KAYTRANADA was an energetic soul that wouldn’t be leaving the music scene any time soon. From the first listen, it was a hypnotizing experience of instrumentals made to make you dance. It had an impressive set of features, too, including Anderson .Paak and Goldlink, among other notable artists. However, the album was certainly not without its flaws, and did not make it up quite as high as other albums on my list of favorites of that year. One thing that the album did leave me with was the anticipation for his next project, whatever it happened to be. With 2019’s BUBBA, the electronic-producer hones in on his most desirable qualities, and it is everything that one would hope for following his 2016 release. One of the more attractive elements of his now nearly four-years old release was how each song appeared to go hand in hand with the one following it, making for a unique listening experience. KAYTRANADA turns this dial up to 11 in BUBBA, and it emerges sounding as if each song were a match made in heaven. The transition from one track to the next is pleasant and entirely appropriate, and has you going, “Damn! That was crazy,” at a few points. The album begins with the track “DO IT”, an opener akin to that of his last album in both instruments used and overall sound; from this moment, however, it is evident that the producer has hammered away at his craft in the three-and-a-half years following his last release, shifting even further towards the dance-vibe that he created before. Though we know what to expect by now from KAYTRANADA, BUBBA still manages to surprise with outstanding instrumentals on tracks such as “2 The Music” and “10%”. Here, dancing feels irresistible, at least to someone that loves to dance. Even if one doesn’t enjoy dancing, the atmosphere created by tracks like these is undeniably exciting. The features in the track list are perhaps more impressive than before, with artists such as Kali Uchis and Mick Jenkins teaming up with the beat-maker to deliver on creating excellent music. This album, like his previous effort, however, is not perfect. Though it is easy to think little of these blemishes, there are indeed blemishes. The track “Midsection” could have been kept out of the final cut. Although likely intentional, Pharrell Williams’ provides drowned out, distant vocals; they do not mesh well with the production. What’s more, the singing on the verses of this track is, to be frank, slightly irritating. To give it some credit, it does go along with the overall production theme of the rest of the album. Another problem that could be taken up with the album is how the vocals outshine the instrumental at times, like in “Freefall”, with Durand Bernarr, or “Taste”, featuring VanJess. This problem, however, is a good problem to have when making an album as a producer; it is something that is not necessarily a bad thing, and is even considered to help contribute to the album’s greatness. Overall, I believe this to be one of the better albums of 2019, and a must-listen for anyone that listens to electronic music or dance music, even for anyone that likes to dance in general. The wide variety of artists included on the project is a bonus that provides for a new turn with each song, making for an entertaining listen and a high replay value.
0 Comments
|
AuthorEnrique Cardenas III Archives
November 2021
Categories
All
|