Elysia Crampton - American Drift

Elysia Crampton
American Drift
2015
Elysia Crampton - American Drift

American Drift certainly has experimentation covered. The second track of this four track EPish features tones you would hear on a trap album but also on a strange new wave song as well. The issue however is not in the fact that this album is something totally new, the issue is whether or not it is worth wile to listen to at all. There are times where you are completely lost in songs which for the most part top off over five minutes each. There are plenty of sounds, but in terms of actual music there is not much to grab on to. "Petrichrist" has sounds that seem like they are coming from a particularly suspenseful part of Power Rangers. But then there are these flashes, these tiny special moments in which you realize, wow there really is something here. They are fleeting and almost impossible to hold on to for more than a second. The music at times can be engaging but then also be really annoying. The radio drops while clearly trying to convey some kind of message serve as little more than confusing moments on an already perplexing album.

While listening to American Drift you keep wanting Elysia to give you something. There needs to be some kind of ground to hold on to, but it is never there. Everything is just around to confuse and bewilder rather that have something you can really get into. It is modern art, but finding the real beauty somewhere underneath is almost impossible. "Axacan" works as almost a Mexican American collage more than anything. It is about growing up as a Brown person in American, but to know that you have to research, dive deep into her story, then the story the music is trying to tell becomes more clear. As it is this record is not fun to listen to, nor is it challenging in that really special way that some things are. You very well feel more cultured after listening to this record. Just don't expect to enjoy it.

4 out of 10