Robert Delong - See You In The Future EP

Robert Delong
See You In The Future EP
2018
Spotify

There was a time when it felt like Robert Delong might have the pop music of the future in his pocket. His interesting productions, multi-instrumental abilities and dedication to making music for the future made him feel fresh and modern. There was a time a coupel years ago where extreme electronics were wildly popular. Artists like Flume, Porter Robinson and others produced this music that felt wildly interesting and a viable option for what was coming next. Those vibes though have somewhat skittered out mostly because they sound has now been seamlessly blended into the things we listen to everyday. Then we land in 2018, quite awhile after Delong broke through with In the Cards (2015) and the music has not aged well nor grown much. Delong is doing the exact same thing He's done for years with little to freshen things up. "Favorite Color is Blue" tries to be this huge duet half pop half electronic song but it flounders from the first notes. K.Flay who features on the track has that strange vocal inflection that a ton of alternative females singers employ. It has almost become a meme at this point how many artists sing exactly like this. One of the stranger things about this record is how hard Delong turns toward the middles. His music has always been a bit pop centric, but with this EP he takes such a hard left turn it's kind of bewildering.

It is nto until the last track that you get something somewhat interesting and fun, but by that time it is too little too late. Songs like "Global Concepts" where He demands you "FUCKING DANCE" over blistering electronics are so far removed from anything on this concert it is a bit staggering. At his live shows He would be intensely turning knobs and moving joysticks to create his effects, but with See You In The Future it doesn't feel like there is much of that at all. Robert Delong's best tracks have a frantic energy that is inescapable, this record has zero of that. If He was going to shift to this gentler look He would at least need to make sure the lyrics were good enough to make up for the shift, but they just aren't. In trying to simplify his sound He lost what made it great in the first place. Let's hope this is just a bump in the road and that Robert Delong gets back to what makes his music really great because when you listen back to his older stuff you relize exactly what is missing.

5.0 out of 10