Brockhampton- SATURATION Album Review
In the ever-expanding, interconnected digital age that we live in, the internet is more powerful than ever. Like any tool though, it can be used for both good and bad. Often times it is unfortunately the later- just look through the comment section of most YouTube videos or hop onto Twitter for an extended amount of time. The flip side, of course, is that rather than isolating people and tearing them apart, the internet can be a great place in that it brings people together who wouldn’t have ever met or had regular contact otherwise, and Brockhampton, a collective of young creatives and best friends, are an inspirational testament to this positive impact the internet can have.
Formed in late 2014 by a bunch of high school kids mostly from Texas who met through a Kanye West fan forum, Brockhampton are now living out their dreams in South Central L.A., where they all share a house together. As a collective, they are made up of about 15 people which includes artists, graphic designers, directors, and web developers, but they are most prominently an alternative hip hop group who have dubbed themselves an “All-American Boyband.” Having gradually built up a small following since early 2015, Brockhampton released their first mixtape last year, titled All-American Trash, and even though it was a pretty unremarkable debut project, there was definite potential in the group. Fast forward one year later, and Brockhampton seem to have fully realized that potential. Starting with a G-funk inspired single they released near the start of February called “Cannon,” these guys have been on a tear, particularly in the past month, where they’ve just been releasing one awesome single after another. I can't recall another instance where I’ve seen an artist release so much quality music in such a short span of time. Now, their full length album SATURATION is out and it’s fulfilling the promise of their latest singles, representing a breakthrough for the boys of Brockhampton.
The first thing you’ll notice listening to Brockhampton is that they have clearly been inspired by the music they grew up listening to. From Odd Future to Kanye to Frank Ocean to early Childish Gambino to M.I.A. to Gorillaz to Pharrell and The Neptunes, their assortment of influences are visible, but unlike so many other up-and-coming hip hop artists at the moment, they seem to have found their own identity and carved out a niche for themselves. Each of the members of the group- Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Matt Champion, Dom McLennon, Merlyn Wood, Joba, and Bearface- have their own unique style, and along with their in-house producers, they play off one another in these songs with a ton of high-octane energy and comradery. You can tell that they are all having a blast doing what they do together (check out their insane and off the wall music videos), and it’s hard not to get swept up in the infectiousness of it all as a listener.
The album starts with the appropriately titled song “HEAT,” one of the angriest and grimiest songs I’ve heard in a while and probably the place where the Odd Future influence is most obvious. It does everything that an opener should do- set the tone, establish the aesthetic, grab your attention, and deliver a great song on top of it. Directly after this, “GOLD” shows off the softer side of the group with a danceable beat and a simple but irresistibly catchy hook, and “STAR” is a certified banger with low-pitched keys, strong kicks, non-stop name-dropping, and one of the best hip hop verses of the year from Abstract. Elsewhere, “FAKE” has a funky bass line and inventive use of pitch-shifting, “BANK” moves propulsively with its rhythmic drums and sampled vocals in the background that give it an exotic flavor, “SWIM” has serene guitars and is a real feel-good, pretty love song, and “FACE” is a slow, soothing track with a melody that is sure to get stuck in your head. Between the harder-hitting rapping tracks and brighter pop tunes, the album bounces between plenty of diverse sounds, and if I had to single out the biggest strength of this album, it would undoubtedly be its variation. Along with that, lyrical content, whether witty, funny, aggressive, introspective, or romantic, is engaging and often quotable, the 808-laden, synthetic production is on point without ever feeling overproduced, verses consistently shine even on some of the lesser tracks, and each of the group members gets a chance to take the spotlight. The biggest standout though is Ameer Vann, who has a deep voice, a stone cold flow, and is a very charismatic performer who can adapt to whatever he is rapping over. He really pulls the entire album together, and it’s no wonder why he is the one on the cover and has the first verse on the opening track.
There’s more than enough to latch onto and love about SATURATION, though there are some things that Brockhampton can improve upon as they continue to mature. There aren’t any bad tracks on it, although the polarizing and Yeezus-esque “BUMP” didn't really work for me as it switches between these booming, hard-as-nails verses and passages with clean vocals and sliding guitars. Even with the electic mix, the album still flows surprisingly well front to back and never drags, but it could have used something to unify all of these tracks rather than just seeming like a collection of (admittedly really solid) songs. Another thing is that there was a bit of an over-saturation (no pun intended) of auto-tune and vocal manipulation effects at times; “FAKE” is great but on a few other tracks I’m not sure it was needed since it didn’t enhance what the song was going for (it didn't detract from them either though). The album is also very top-heavy (side A or the first 7 songs is stronger than side B or the last 7 songs- not counting the 3 skits), as it starts out with three of their ultra-hot singles in a row (with the 16th track “FACE” being the lone exception). This makes sense in that it makes the opening spectacular, but as a result it also sacrifices the quality of some of the back-half. The back-half is by no means weak, it’s just that the singles and songs like “FAKE” and “BANK” are so good that some of the other tracks can’t help but feel inferior in comparison. These are the points where it becomes apparent that the album could have been more developed, but considering that this entire thing was made in only three and a half weeks and it managed to turn out as well as it did, you can’t complain too much. SATURATION is a youthful burst of creativity that features some of the most enjoyable pop rap since Graduation (2007), and Brockhampton’s music, even while being a breath of fresh air next to the landscape of mainstream rap today, is still very accessible, so if you’re into hip hop, I can't imagine why you wouldn't like this. Don’t sleep on them or this album.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars out of 5)
Listen to SATURATION now on Spotify, iTunes, or Apple Music.