ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE

BROCKHAMPTON - ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
Critic Score
Based on 19 reviews
2021 Ratings: #355 / 753
User Score
2021 Rank: #96
Liked by 702 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

Roadrunner serves as a masterful group therapy session, picking up the broken pieces of life and uplifting with cautious optimism.

90
DIY
An album which finds a band who’ve been through a lot finding their stride and searching for joy from within the bleak, ‘Roadrunner…’ sees Brockhampton silencing any of those who feared they might have lost their spark. It’s a record that - if it is truly one of their last - sees the lads going out with a bang.
84
Paste

As the band continues to map out their progression, they also showcase their deep knowledge of and reverence for rap as a whole.

80
Exclaim!
In what appears to be one of their final outings, Brockhampton is giving their listeners the best they have to offer, which makes anticipation for their next album even stronger.
80
RIOT

ROADRUNNER still features some of the group’s trademark braggadocio; though, when it does, it’s mostly through slanted remarks and brief diversions from the tempest.

80
The Forty-Five

If anything, ‘ROADRUNNER’ is the first taste of a collection of rappers who can stand alone with the same instinct with which they stand together – and that’s exciting. There is this overwhelming sense that the roadrunners are, at last, forging paths of their own.

80
The Needle Drop
It was pretty great to hear the group branching out creatively for the majority of this record, and sounding really good doing it.
80
Clash

Framed by ‘THE LIGHT’, the record is cohesive, punchy, and succinct. A force renewed, BROCKHAMPTON’s return comes just as the darkness that has surrounded our lives for 18 months begins to dissipate.

80
HipHopDX

During the first listen of the album, only a handful of its 13 tracks stood out but upon further exploration, ROADRUNNER suddenly blossomed into a sonic garden ripe with introspective brilliance.

78
Sputnikmusic
No matter how you feel about the music, it's hard to argue with a band who'll go through the worst and come out assuring all of us that "the light is worth the wait".
75
Consequence of Sound

Throughout ROADRUNNER…, their psychedelic-saturated groupthink frequently coheres into daring and undeniably moving work, smoothing over the rough spots and small stumbles.

74
Pitchfork
The hip-hop collective’s sixth album refocuses on melody and economy, resulting in the group’s most focused and impressive record yet.
70
The Line of Best Fit

It’s a real pleasure listening to the group traverse a new obstacle in working more with external artists. And while this album may lean on them too heavily, this is undoubtedly the same BROCKHAMPTON.

70
Rolling Stone

Some of the best music can be raw while remaining widely accessible. Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine is Brockhampton’s best effort to balance these approaches; their hard times and brash raps go down more smoothly than ever.

70
Loud and Quiet
It’s a patchy effort to say the least, but the peaks are so high that the troughs are easy to ignore.
70
Still Listening
BROCKHAMPTON come across as more focused than ever in this release but they let themselves down by treading too much old ground and failing to live up to the cohesive standards set by their previous work.
60
The Independent

Nothing joins together. Brockhampton don’t sound self-aware as much as self-conscious – you can't blame them. But it’s probably the right time to bow out.

60
Gigwise

Seven projects in, and sensory overload seems to be at the nucleus of BROCKHAMPTON’s discography. Yet where the group was once in control and self-aware, ROADRUNNER has multiple missteps which edge on the fractured and insecure.

60
NME

While ‘Roadrunner’ doesn’t provide party-starting hits tailor-made for when the clubs re-open, Brockhampton remains a vehicle for its sprawling cast of members to interrogate and overcome their darkest thoughts as one.

Chode
80

The best boyband since One Direction is finally back.

Watching a band that is as unfaltering in their constant knack for creativity and vision as Brockhampton is in action is a truly mesmerizing sight to behold. I honestly feel bad for anyone who won’t be able to get into Brockhampton’s music before their supposed disbandment at the end of the year as following around the artistic metamorphosis Brockhampton has foregone since the days of the Saturation trilogy has been like ... read more

PipePanic
88

The light is so goddamn bright.

Me and BROCKHAMPTON I feel have this strange connection. Obviously not a friendship (Reminder that parasocial relationships can be extremely harmful), but rather I've felt, only upon taking a look at my own life, that I live in parallel to BROCKHAMPTONS artistic journey that they have taken across the mere 6 years since their formation. The groups rise to power is stuff of legend, with the idea of a large group of friends trying their hardest to make music they ... read more

MattsReviews
70

Kevin Abstract please run me over

FRANKTZU
93

The real last BROCKHAMPTON album.

FunkyBlood9696
83

This is one of those albums that I've been aware of ever since it came out around 3 years ago, and have tried it on a couple of occasions, but never made a full review diving into what it has to offer, but after finally trying out Brockhampton's last "Great" project, I can confirm that it is actually really solid and stands as one of the best albums in their mostly flawless discography
The production is fire, the hooks and choruses are hella catchy, the chemistry between each member ... read more

thefunkiestkong
63

bought the album on vinyl after only hearing a couple of the songs, and my record player fucked up whats the occasion so i dont really care about it anymore. it had some highlights, but it wasnt really my thing

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Track List

1BUZZCUT
3:21
93
2CHAIN ON
3:21
feat. JPEGMAFIA
85
3COUNT ON ME
2:35
75
4BANKROLL
3:22
82
5THE LIGHT
3:42
92
6WINDOWS
6:11
84
7I'LL TAKE YOU ON
4:14
79
8OLD NEWS
3:13
feat. Baird
75
9WHAT'S THE OCCASION?
3:45
85
10WHEN I BALL
3:23
81
11DON'T SHOOT UP THE PARTY
3:07
91
12DEAR LORD
2:02
75
13THE LIGHT PT. II
4:18
89
Total Length: 46 minutes
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Added on: January 16, 2021