andand

It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t evolved his sound at all since his breakout album Losing Myself. Every release since feels more watered down than the last

This surprise album bs must be Drake dumping content to finish his UMG deal. Dropping 3 full-length projects simultaneously from an artist already notorious for bloated albums just makes it feel about obligation/sales and devoid of any real artistic intention. I guess I’ll eventually get to Iceman because before this the months of build up actually had me really excited

The production is genuinely amazing
the writing sadly reduces everything to hollow hedonistic imagery that never lands for me. A few really good tracks aside, the album feels flatter than the sound design deserves
30->50->75
I keep coming back.. the production really is one of a kind

I put this off for a long time because I figured it would be Soundtracks For The Blind just live.
The STFTB and Great Annihilator tracks are improvised beyond recognition and the ‘debut’ tracks, specifically “Not Alone” reads as a direct blueprint to the later reunion trilogy. I never cared for the Jarboe praise until hearing “I crawled” and “Hypogirl” which have grown to be highlights for me. If you like Swans’ later work this is a must hear