I like everything here to varying degrees - "Big Boy" least favourite and it still decently goes - but iridescence had basically perfect flow and this feels a bit lumpy from tracks 4-8. specifically separating "Heaven Belongs to You" and "If You Pray Right" by one track when they're a two-part song was a really weird choice, and "I Been Born Again" - which is really good and underrated imo - feels perfunctory after Dom scorches earth on "Dearly Departed" (speaking of which, how long before Ameer stans that somehow still exist on Twitter find out about that Dom verse?)
literally nothing I hate more in music than a bad fade-out, maybe 1 time in 50 that's a good way to end a song
Why Pitchfork insists on referencing Ameer as their "best rapper" everytime they get coverage...I'll never know. Let it go.
Not only is it gross it’s flat out not true. Dom, Kevin, Matt, and Joba (while sometimes weird) rap circles around him.
Not to mention the fact that they clearly didn't need him considering they've now put out two great records without him. So like lamenting his absence is misguided on that level as well.
Ameer literally only did "I got a lot of [INSERT OBJECT], and a lot of [SOME OTHER OBJECT]". Once someone pointed that out to me I ALWAYS noticed it. The other members have so much more to offer.
Anyway this record is awesome and I'm so glad these guys seemingly can't stop firing on all cylinders
It also happened two album cycles ago (three if you include Arizona Baby). It's really only relevant now in the context of "Dearly Departed," and they don't even mention that song by name. They hardly mention any songs by name in the review.
This doesn't have the highs of Iridescene for me so far but it's a really good listen. The singles all make sense more in context of the album and it has a real easy flow.
I have some weird memories attached to Iridescence that color my feelings about that record so I’m happy this record exists as clean slate for me