LATE NIGHT. REVIEWS. FILM. MUSIC. TV.
Blood Orange treads the same scattered, misty, non-linear paths as To Pimp A Butterfly-era Kendrick Lamar or latter-day D’Angelo on Negro Swan. Tracks lean and dart at weird angles. Sometimes it feels vexing and distant and you wish the focus narrowed. But most of the time, it’s beautiful kaleidoscopic chaos. It’s an album that feels refreshingly ambitious and unrestrained.
It’s not hard to see why Travi$ Scott has very quickly become a big deal in hip-hop. Much like his sonic father, Kid Cudi, his songs hover like glowing magnets – you don’t quite know how they work but you can’t look away. It’s why, ten years after Cudi’s debut mixtape, the Lonely Stoner still has a fervent following.
But just like Cudi, Scott isn’t as good as everyone wants him to be. Astroworld is nothing if not fascinating. Its title is actually remarkably accurate; this project sounds like it could soundtrack a stroll through a half-abandoned carnival at midnight on LSD. Scott gives it everything he’s got, stacking a truly gobsmacking amount of talent together across 17 tracks. When it’s great, it’s really fucking impressive. But a lot of the time it just feels like a tease.
THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL 