iridescence

Though it’s not as good as any of the trilogy albums, ‘iridescence’ comes quite close, and I and many others were maybe a bit too harsh when Brockhampton’s fifth record came out in 2018.

On a personal level, I believe it was hard at the time to seperate the trilogy from that time of my life, which is why it sticks with me. ‘iridescence’ dropped when a different stage of my life had begun, and as a result, it didn’t hit the same way 2017’s albums did. On a more general level, the rollout for this project simply didn’t hold a candle to the ‘Saturation’ projects. Part of this was obviously the boy band distancing themselves from Ameer, but the singles weren’t necessarily great either. And without the grimiest, “realest” member of the group to balance certain tracks, the band moved in a more pop-oriented direction. This wasn’t a bad move as Brockhampton had already made plenty of pop music, not to mention there are pop bangers on here, and there’s still plenty of rapping throughout. If anything, the more hook-centric, melodic approach gave BH even more of an identity than they already possessed.

While the group showed clear sonic growth on cuts like “San Marcos” and “Fabric,” there are still plenty of tracks here for the ‘Saturation’ bandwagoners searching for bars. I mean, the record starts with “New Orleans,” one of the band’s best songs, period.

‘iridescence’ is more transitionary than anything. Transitioning aesthetically while maintaining the special sauce that made the group standout in the first place and transitioning away from a core member, Brockhampton frankly did the best they could with their first project following controversy. It’s still a greatly enjoyable record.