This is good rap merged with some very beautiful electronica, which verges on the ambient in places, and some old school R&B. Allday is a young dude. So, unsurprisingly, the album is heavily weighted towards songs about girls, getting some, getting drunk or high, and dissatisfaction. The beauty is that it’s not miserable.
Mostly, Allday raps. In fact, he’s said that he doesn’t sing on the basis his mates told him he has a shit voice. He’s under-selling himself. He sings (as well as raps) on a couple of tracks, notably You Always Know the DJ, and he does a fine job.
Anything But Sober stands out as an anomaly on the album. Everything else is easy on the ear, but this one is deliberately discordant. It’s simultaneously a compelling and challenging listen. It’s also sad, with lyrics like “I drink through every single crisis,” and “I’m never sober, I’m always drunk.”
Having said that it’s not a miserable album though there is some angst – maybe even a hint of nihilism. On Taking Hold, Allday says that “I hope it kills me, because I need the pain,” and on Right Now he actually says he’s having an “existential crisis” (even though he’s not entirely sure what it is).
PS – it turns out that God Starve the Queen is not a punk/rap anthem. It’s a break up song.
BY MEG CRAWFORD
Best Track: Wolves
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Tightrope ILLY
In A Word: Appealing
