LATE NIGHT. REVIEWS. FILM. MUSIC. TV.
As unambitious as ever, “SICK!” is a brisk, withdrawn affair from Earl Sweatshirt. He’s labelled the album a humble capsule of his COVID-19 and lockdown thoughts. If you treat it that way, and nothing more, it’s deceptively intricate and gorgeously understated.
Continue reading “Earl Sweatshirt: “SICK!””
Vince Staples burst onto the scene with Summertime ’06. Ever since, he’s been a critical and fan darling, helped in no small amount to a personality not far-removed from a Black Jerry Seinfeld. He suffers from sky-high expectations on his eponymous album, Vince Staples. It felt like we were ready for something big. It had been a while. But this album simmers along, technically superb but never attention-grabbing. It’s a great piece of work. It can’t help but feel like he’s holding back, though.
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[Editor Note: We wrote a review for Mac Miller’s Swimming a month ago. Click here to read our review. We really liked it.]
Back in 2011, a white, very-Eminem-looking rapper released Blue Slide Park. That album sold a preposterous number of copies considering it was an independently distributed LP. In the SoundCloud/Spotify age, it’s the sort of thing that could be done easily. Back then, it signalled a phenom. And so, Mac Miller became a thing.
Continue reading “Mac Miller Had Just Figured Out Music – And Life – When He Left”
Only 26 years old, it’s already felt like Mac Miller has been around for two lifetimes. On Swimming, you can tell he feels the same way. Where he was once a giddy faux- prodigy who made college frat-boys jizz in their pants, these days he sounds like a burnt-out child actor – think Robert Pattinson after his eighth Twilight film. Swimming sounds like his attempt to admit that it’s OK that he’s not OK. To anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t have a grip on life, they’ll be able to relate. In these moments, he creates an album that’s weirdly poignant and oddly beautiful.
THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 