BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION II

BROCKHAMPTON
SATURATION II
2017
Spotify

A mere two months after their debut SATURATION was released the LA based hip hop crew are back with it's follow up SATURATION II and a third promised closed on it's heels. The one thing you notice right away about BROCKHAMPTON is just how confident they are. It's not being braggadocious, though that piece is there too, but it is more in the same way D-12 was confident in their weirdness. There are no apologies, nor any attempt to chase trends and in it's place is an appreciation for the more classic sounds of hip hop but mixed with a 2017 sensibility. There is a slickness to the music even though it wouldn't be called smooth right off that bat. "JELLO" is one of the more interesting songs utilizing chopped up vocals as it's chorus but then having this cutting lyrical line that is so fast it's almost hard to hang on. Yet it is the chorus that brings you back around singing along as they sing "I think that my brain is fried". It really takes a long time for the group to distinguish themselves barely mentioning names but Vann is an early standout and is the real driving force of the group. Even with the seemingly odd sound BROCKHAMPTON manage to make it work for them right off the bat. They sound like nothing else happening in hip hop today which is one of the reasons why the are so damn exciting. They almost seem like Hip Hop's Glass Animals weird enough still be able to act goofy, but with music focused and compelling enough to keep you coming back for more.

"JESUS" is the one "slow song" on the record and it happens to be the shortest. It is one of the tracks that doesn't quite work on the album crossing over into that too odd territory that some of the more out there rap gets to. The single "CHICK" is a real standout both production wise and in terms of the lyrics. It is strange but just fucking bangs not to mention it drops hard right into "JUNKY" and keeps the aggression high. "JUNKY" has this minimal production and every ounce of power is used to draw this thing out. The song is powerful because of the beat and the words outlining some of the more progressive ideas the band has. Doing the unexpected is always what BROCKHAMPTON are about; if you think they are going to zig, they zag, tell them to jump and they'll tell you to go pound sand. The promise is so massive with these guys it's hard to even imagine this work came from their first outing at recording. The world is gonna shutter from whatever BROCKHAMPTON come with next, we'll just have to wait to hear it.

8.7 out of 10