While I cannot claim to love Odd Future, it is easy to say that I am fascinated the rap collective. The Los Angeles-based group has done everything imaginable in terms of lyrical content from rapes and murders to more sensual ballads and exploration of teen angst. Maybe it is the mythology and the community aspect that has made their careers last for as long as it has. While they are never far from occasionally dropping something unworthy of condoning, they are the youth of west coast, which may be their legacy when sifting through their mixtapes and few albums. The evolution from snotty teens to more mature 20-somethings has probably produced their greatest parallels in content, notably with Earl Sweatshirt's "Doris."
Of the group's already eclectic line-up, one of the most interesting voices has remained Sweatshirt, whose very brief debut "Earl" showed a voice that wasn't afraid to rap about whatever came to his mind. The then 16-year-old left a strong impression and even with tracks like "epaR" (read it backwards), he managed to have a lyrical prose that suggested potential. As time went on, the words "Free Earl" almost seemed to be emblazoned onto every Odd Future release. It was not because this wildcard of a performer was arrested, but because of some time in Samoa, which was seen as a way to "clear his head."
He returns with his second album and the angry young kid has a lot to live up to. Even if he drops the rape aspect, there is consideration that he may have just been a flash in the pan. With a lo-fi production, he begins his ascension into the album by starting personal. While the appeal of Odd Future has always tended to be their mix of brashness with honesty, it has felt more focused as time has went on. Earl is no exception. While he begins the album talking about girls and guns, it doesn't take long for him to get personal. As he talks about his negligent father and not having role models, he manages to make each verse sound like an afternoon on the couch.
With varying degrees of success, the album reflects something relative yet different. Through a series of pop culture references, he runs the gamut of covering references to Paul Revere, To Live and Die in LA, the Adjustment Bureau, and Johnny Carson to name just a small fraction. For many, it is essentially what gives Sweatshirt the edge, as he manages to pack the titles into clever puns without ever feeling tongue in cheek. He feels like a student of pop culture who happens to be able to apply everything to his life. In a way, it has replaced the rape references, but he's all the better for it.
Of all the tracks, the most notable is "Sunday" featuring Frank Ocean, who chooses to rap instead of his familiar crooning on the song. It dives into trying to clean up and become a better person. It is a maturing theme that builds through the first half of the album and also features the album's best line and definitive summation: "How can you live on the west coast if you're bipolar?" It sums up what "Doris" will go for after this track while also managing to reflect the poetic beauty hidden under the occasional innuendo or sexual lyric. This is a vulnerable album.
While possibly not the most intentional, the production is fascinating. All of the tracks feature the familiar lo-fi, buzzing appeal that Odd Future has been known for. However, the earlier tracks, which are more personal and less insistent on his narrative imagery of grandeur are almost minimalist. The vocals are allowed to highlight themselves without any memorable hook underneath them stealing the thunder. It also creates a meditative feel that almost makes Sweatshirt and his lyrics more sympathetic.
Then with "Sasquatch," things begin to heat up. The music begins to shift into a more fully produced and interesting pallet. As the song begins, it almost sounds like a haunted carnival as lyrics more focused around perverse activities begin to take place. Odd Future leader Tyler the Creator is on board for the first of two tracks that sees him try to push the boundary with shocking lyrics that mostly work within the context of the album. Tyler himself has tried to "clean up his image" as it were earlier this year with "Wolf," though the results weren't as interesting. Here, he puts full effort into his time on the album, seeming to bring the demons out of Sweatshirt that will continue to appear for the rest of the album.
There's also the haunting, deep drowning voice that comes and goes on tracks. As on Tyler's "Goblin" album, this is to signify Sweatshirt's inner conscience as he repeats lines about regret and hoping to move on. The album almost becomes like a concept album in the way that despite getting more vulgar in the second half, it exposes a conscience through his own realization that he needs to grow up. Even in the midst of pop culture references, killing, and a consistently changing viewpoint on drugs, there is this sense that he is the vulnerable person that we kind of understand through his roundabout way of saying things.
The most odd production choice is the song "Hoarse," which manages to apply western themes. Along with sound clips, it almost feels like the final shoot-off on the album and its attempt to go out with a bang. In true Odd Future fashion, it isn't so much a bang, but a brief pause and a thud. Even for a repetitive production, the compositions have plenty of humor and personality that prove why they are so viable. When "Knight" ends the album by thanking the fathers who weren't there, it almost seems like a fond farewell and appreciation to those who made the album possible by not being there.
In a way, "Doris" is a solid album about just being in your 20's, watching movies, dealing with relationships, and your inner demons. It may not always be successful, but more often than not Sweatshirt remains an interesting voice to listen to and one that packs personality into every track. Through the progression of the music, it almost seems like a concept album on psychotherapy, though far more interesting and fun. The lo-fi production at times does get repetitive, but never exhausting. Sweatshirt may have slowed down with his brute behavior on this album, but he stands a good chance of becoming one of the more promising young voices if he manages to continue to tweak the formula and make music that is uncompromisingly dark, personal, and interesting.
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