Clancy

We are kinda back, I guess

This album has its low points, mostly in the second half, but when a track hits it's really good. I understand this album is enjoyed best with all of the lore and backstory to understand the various references spread throughout but I don't particularly find TOP's worldbuilding engaging so I'm taking these songs at face value. Overcompensate and Next Semester start off the album with a bang. I understand that it's a common trope to start an album off with a single to ease the listener into the world of the album but three in a row feels a little excessive. I love how the interesting production choices in songs like Backslide and Lavish directly tie into their lyrics and themes. Navigating starts off with these electrifying guitars that I wish we saw more of throughout this project, however, as soon as the chorus hits everything becomes bland. In fact, the main issue I have with this album is that, whilst none of the songs feel lyrically redundant, some of the lower points can feel quite safe in their instrumentation. This combined with the tracklisting placing these less interesting songs next to each other unfortunately makes some parts of the album, especially the last few tracks, slightly drag. That being said, I feel the highlights of this album vastly outweigh the lowlights.

Best tracks: Overcompensate, Lavish, Backslide
Worst tracks: Palidin Strait, The Craving (Jenna's version)