Domo Genesis - Facade Records EP

Domo Genesis

Facade Records EP

2018

Spotify

Domo Genesis is the one of the members of Odd Future who's path has not been that of wild experimentation. Instead Domo Genesis has maintained a strong hip hop sound that honors the beats of old while allowing his words to shine. His previous album was heavy with features, particularly one with Anderson .paak that was transcendent. yet on this new EP Domo Genesis takes center stage. Boom Bap is the basis for everything that happens on this record, the beats you've heard before and the lyrics, well, you've probably heard those to. On Domo's last album their was an energy and excitement that is all but gone here. At six tracks and just over 16 minutes Facade Records is brief and in a word, inconsequential. There are almost no stakes, no experiments and nothing that sets this record apart from anything else in the field. While other Odd Future members are doing EPs about the Grinch or other wildly experimental things, Domo just sits back and stays in this one very delineated lane. Nothing stands out or jumps up from the song, they just sort of happen in a vacuum then slowly fade away. By the time you look up the albums over and you can't even remember if you've listened to all the tracks, everything just slides into a place of background noise. 

You would expect something to stand up and be bold on this EP, but there is almost nothing to hold on to. The beats come and go and the lyrics barely illicit any kind of response, so what in the fuck is the point? There doesn't seem to be any. I really struggled with this record because each time I listened to it, it became more and more frustrating. I wasn't finding new things with each listen, I was just hearing the same boring stuff every single time. I like Domo Genesis' voice which makes this even harder to listen to. Facade Records feels like just that, a weak facade which underneath has little to reveal. It leaves you feeling hollow and underwhelmed, as if you didn't listen to much of anything at all. It's a harsh criticism, but if you make something you want it to illicit some kind of response whether negative or positive. This album does none of that and just sort of sits there. Not exactly what He was looking for. 

2.0 out of 10