Welcome to The Harmonic Series, a music review series - exclusive to Steemit - where I’ll be discussing music across many different styles and genres from metal, to electronic music, to jazz and beyond! I’ll be talking up exciting new releases, some of my personal classics, and anything else that I think is worth checking out. Some of the reviews I share will be brand new, and some will be from my personal archives.
Today’s review is an album that made me fall in love with one of my favorite artists all over again:
Thundercat - Drunk (Brainfeeder, 2017)
Genre: Jazz Fusion
Style: Electronic, Soul, Funk, Hip-Hop
In 2011 when I first began reviewing music, if you had told me that one day Thundercat would end up playing at the state college I’d eventually attend - and that I’d be able to see this performance for free, I would have laughed. In my eyes, he was already legendary. His debut album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse - a lush and groovy neo-soul/electronic/jazz fusion record - ended up as my favorite album of that year, and as the partner-in-crime of electronic and abstract hip-hop producer Flying Lotus - who prominently featured Thundercat’s bass playing on the phenomenal track Pickled! off his seminal album Cosmogramma - he seemed positioned to make it big. So when he was announced for SUNY Purchase’s Culture Shock festival, my jaw dropped and my heart swelled. It’s commonly said that artists play Culture Shock right before they have a big break, and having hosted acts such as MF Doom, Aesop Rock, Regina Spektor, and even Drake, there’s likely something to it. It’s no surprise then that, the year after Thundercat played the festival, he released Drunk, quite possibly his best album yet, and chock full of incredibly high profile collaborators.
In the years following his debut, he released a second album - Apocalypse - that, even in name it would seem, was destined not to fill the shoes of its predecessor (though I did later come around to appreciate the album for it’s own merits in spite of my initial disappointment). He also released the mini-LP The Beyond / Where Giants Roam, which featured the persistently popular hit Them Changes alongside five other tracks that didn’t quite hold up as well. This can possibly be understood in the context of the passing of his good friend and collaborator, the young jazz pianist Austin Peralta. Stephen Bruner, the man behind the Thundercat alias, was in grieving; this showed in the shift of tone and themes in his music, and even if those releases aren’t up to par with his debut, I can respect and sympathize with the distress and disorientation such a loss must have engendered. Thundercat is decidedly at his best when he’s fully present an unburdened in his craft however, and the lows of grief set the stage for a tremendous surge back into excellence.
Drunk immediately imparts a sense of a return to form: the production style hearkens back to the lushness of his first album, with crisp hi-hats, perfectly snappy snares, and tight small kick drums. The drums aren’t all however; his airy vocal harmonies take a strong lead on many of the tracks, and he employs a variety of finely tuned bass tones, whether on his leads and solos, comping and fingerpicking chord patterns (he plays a six-string bass, to the effect of incredible flexibility in composition and performance), or his bass lines proper. The electronics and auxiliary instrumentation with which he fleshes out his tunes - aided by the production of Flying Lotus and Sounwave - are always the perfect touches that bring each song into its own. Bright string-like synths supercharge the energy of the more upbeat tracks like Friend Zone, while warm and open pads carry the mood on more low-key cuts such as 3AM and twinkling percussive elements sparkle atop the tongue-in-cheek ode to conflicted relationships with smartphones that is Bus In These Streets. Thundercat even recalls the more jazz based instrumental tracks from his debut - such as my personal favorite Fleer Ultra - with the busy and solo packed Uh Uh. In its diversity of sound and somewhat staggering 23 tracks, the production of Golden Age isn’t just recalled or invoked, it’s built upon, and even blended with the sounds of his two middle releases, elevating their sounds and styles to greater heights, and providing better context for which to listen to those; that’s right, this album is so good that it actually makes his weaker music sound better.
The diversity is more than just sonic, however; Thundercat comes across as multifaceted and intensely human on Drunk. With the poetic and intimate intro track transitioning into the absurd and humorous Captain Stupido - featuring lines like “I feel weird / comb your beard, brush your teeth / still feel weird / beat your meat, go to sleep,” he sets the tone for the whole album as eclectic and unpredictable. On Tokyo, he depicts his trip to the Japanese city in shimmering idealism and excitement, delighting in splurging on anime DVD’s and stuffing himself with sushi. There’s heavy contrast between the gravity of political themes in songs like The Turn Down and the straightforward party lyrics of the laid-back Drink Dat. Them Changes is back as well, and the decision to rerelease this track in the context of a new album worked well, as it fits alongside these tracks better, while still standing out as exceptional. The numerous and bafflingly high profile featured vocalists on the album serve to signify Thundercat’s ascending status, and further highlight his range; Kenny Logins (you know, Danger Zone) and Michael McDonald contribute vocals that are crooning and soulful, respectively, on the just-corny-enough Show You The Way, while the eminent Kendrick Lamar himself contributes a predictably sobering and incisive verse on Walk On By, which recalls the feel of his track If These Walls Could Talk. Wiz Khalifa and Pharrell also make appearances, filling out the cast of diverse collaborators.
Thundercat keeps the music fresh and interesting for the entire 23-track listing, owing to the brevity of most tracks and a consistently high quality of songwriting. I tend to imagine this album as fairly short and compact, but then I remember that it’s just over 50 minutes - generally an above average album length - and am once again impressed by the focus and skill he demonstrates in his craft. Drunk feels like a triumphant comeback from an artist who I had somewhat fallen out of love with. To release this much music and have none of it seem like filler or throwaway speaks to his growth as a songwriter, producer, lyricist, and human being. Despite the heartbreaks and setbacks of loss and struggle, Thundercat has recovered admirably to a place of greater strength than ever before. This album has the potential to alternately make you laugh, cry, think, and dance. It’s fantastically genuine and enjoyable music, and frankly, if you don’t at least kind of love it, you might want to get your pulse checked.
To buy/stream Drunk, head over to Thundercat's Bandcamp page.
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