How do you become a phenomenon? Right now in music, no one knows quite how to do it like Brockhampton. Like Odd Future before them, they’ve become a full-blown THING – more an idea or a vibe than a mere ‘group’ at this point. Their latest album, iridescence, has got all that same manic energy that made them so eye-catching in the first place. This isn’t a concept album or deep dive into the Brockhampton members’ personalities. This is just combustible energy releasing from a bunch of creative, confused twenty-somethings.

If you’re new to Brockhampton we’ll catch you up to speed real quick. The 14-member group, who naturally met on online forum “KanyeToThe”, largely rose to prominence through three head-turning albums in 2017 which comprised the Saturation trilogy. Those albums were packed with spicy, kitchen-sink-and-all beats, a daunting group of heady, eccentric rappers, and some brilliant music videos. On the back of standout tracks like “Sweet” and “Boogie”, the Brockhampton movement kicked off with critics and casuals alike obsessed.

Iridescence is apparently the start of a new trilogy called The Best Years of Our Lives. It’s a slightly more reserved, subdued affair than the Saturation albums, which isn’t saying much. It’s also a much more complete album than any of their previous ones. There aren’t any real misturns or interludes that feel instantly skippable. They aren’t experimenting in the same way they used to – there’s a much better sense of the direction of the group. Bearface, who once felt like a jarring tack-on as a pure pop singer, feels like he pops up on just about every track on this project, sneaking into the small crevasses between booming verses. The producers mess with his voice each time he comes to the mic, often making him feel much more in tune with each track’s sentiment. He feels like a proper member now.

But the silent truth is that the real gift Brockhampton holds over other current rap music is an incredible group of producers led by Romil Hemnani. Previous great Brockhampton moments like “Sweet”, “Boogie” and “Gold” owed their successes to the nutty, disorientating beats behind them. Iridescence is fantastically produced front-to-back. There are countless beat switch-ups on this project that feel perfectly constructed yet entirely organic. “Berlin” is an early standout – it starts with a thumping blown-out bass that sounds almost broken, before it sneaks out and a high-pitched synth seeps through. “Weight” is more ambitious, starting with a string ensemble that sounds like an old Kevin Abstract song, before a choir enters and then a skittering drum beat snaps at just the right moment. It turns what should be a corny track into a gem. “Honey” feels like it’s going nowhere until a Beyoncé-inspired detour. The music somehow does actually sound iridescent, all laser-beams and blinding colours through the expert use of synths, striking samples and arresting beat changeups.

And what about the rappers? Part of the fun of Brockhampton is listening to one of their tracks and hearing a multitude of voices ping-ponging in your ears; toying with the track like a cat with a thrashing lizard. The heavy-lifters are Dom McLennon, Joba, Matt Champion and Kevin Abstract. McLennon has an easy, malleable rapping style that suits most of these beats and a sharp lyrical mind – his verse on “WEIGHT” is a good example. Champion gets by more on swagger and a brilliant, marbly cadence that just makes him sound great  – he’s particularly memorable on “TAPE” and “SAN MARCOS”. Joba might have the most energy and creativity in delivery of the group, but he lingers a bit too long on this LP over his ‘look at me now’ aesthetic – he’s the resident ‘high school loser who’s proving everyone wrong’ of the group. We get it: you made it.

Kevin Abstract is a bit of a different case. He’s the unquestioned leader of the group who’s also proven extremely adept at penning brilliant hooks. On iridescence, he chimes in with Bearface on hooks where he’s needed, but he also gives himself the most personal, revealing moments on the LP. In fact, no one else really reveals much personal about themselves across the album. His insights are a welcome addition. He has two of the best moments on the album – a stark, to-the-point opening verse on “WEIGHT” and a similarly-blunt verse on “TONYA” where he does compare himself to figure skater Tonya Harding. He can be a bit of a clunky writer in the mould of a Kanye West, but his honest, revealing moments are valuable on a group effort like this, and highlight the fact that it is lacking in the other members.

The elephant in the room, of course, is Ameer Vann. Vann was the former member of Brockhampton who was kicked out after still-somewhat-murky allegations of emotional abuse surrounded him. In short, Brockhampton misses Vann quite a bit. While the other aforementioned rappers really rely on change-of-direction and jittered delivery to keep the tracks exciting, Vann was a rapper’s rapper. On his old verses, he felt like he had all the time in the world. More importantly, he was the best writer in the group. Think of his verse on Saturation III’s “BLEACH” (“don’t let God see me, I got a lot of demons/and I been sleeping with ‘em/and now I’m tangled in the sheets and sinking deeper in ‘em”).

Without Vann, there’s nothing to contrast the skittering verses of McLennon, Champion and Joba. That’s a sorely-missed weapon in Brockhampton’s arsenal (and probably part of the reason that Bearface plays a bigger role here). Merlyn Wood assists in softening the blow with his odd, punchy quickfire interludes in tracks, and he is one of the group’s better lyricists (“I don’t go to church, but I’m so spiritual/pulled my life out the dirt, that’s a miracle”). But the uncomfortable truth is that Vann was the kind of blunt straight-shooter that was able to keep tracks on course and pull their reigns at the perfect time. His absence doesn’t ruin anything here, but no one in Brockhampton really seems capable of replacing his sharp wit.

But ultimately, iridescence still feels like a natural, positive development from the Saturation trilogy. Look at a track like “TONYA”. It shouldn’t work at all – it’s really a supremely corny track about becoming famous and feeling like Tonya Harding. But it works because of a beautifully subtle contribution from serpentwithfeet (particularly the outro), a glorious beat change before Kevin Abstract’s verse, and a poignant final verse from Wood, all behind a simple but effective piano. Tracks like “NEW ORLEANS”, “BERLIN” and “DISTRICT” are Brockhampton’s ideas of bangers, and you’ll find it near-impossible to stop yourself from nodding your head when they really kick into gear. The three-track closing of “SAN MARCOS”, “TONYA” and “FABRIC” is probably some of the better sequencing Brockhamption have done – it ends the album perfectly.

If iridescence is anything, it’s proof that you can get very far with the right beatmakers. The group obviously isn’t short on personality, but personality and frenzied energy certainly doesn’t always translate into good music. Their critical producers, Hemnani and Jabari Manwa, are able to turn that frenzied energy into sonic laser-beams. They make iridescence compulsively listenable. It will be interesting to see if Brockhampton can spend a bit more time sharpening their pencils. If they do, you feel like they could produce a masterpiece or two. They’re heading in the right direction at least.

8.3