Review Summary: A surreal diamond hidden in the rough.
Thanks to Supermegacast, I came across this hidden gem of an album which had me feeling things that I hadn't realized were still living inside of me from high school. It's that feeling when you're sinking into the sofa at 4 AM while the television screen lights up the living room, but you're paying more attention to your thoughts than the screen. Almost every song has this surreal, familiar feeling that you feel like is a part of your memories but you can't quite put your finger on it.
Kill Bill's vocals are typically monotone sounding with slow, atmospheric and even quirky sounds hiding in the background ("Then There's Me" especially) though he is no stranger to a faster paced style while keeping his voice somehow soothing. This album is mostly something to listen to whenever you're just trying to chill out or if you want to sit down and think; it wasn't expected from me on my first listen, but some tracks like "Chinatown" and "Black Coffee" are where Kill Bill's lyricism shines.
His writing style shifts from nostalgic rhymes that make you think of a mid-90s suburban life ("Slow Jam Moogy" and "Dream Eater") while others make you think of a complacent life where everything has fallen apart. ("Good Luck Chuck").
You would think his surreal tones would grow old, but he manages to pull out new, odd sounds that sync with his voice almost perfectly, while only some tracks feel like filler ("waterwaterwater"). They are not bad, per se, but these specific songs feel as though they are only there to take up space as they do not do much as standalone songs, and seem to ride off the coattails of the previous track.
Kill Bill has since come out with many new songs, but as this is where his career officially launched for many, this is perhaps the greatest work he has ever put out with how it seems to just take you away from your own world and into his imagination.
Favorite tracks:
Chinatown
Dream Eater
Black Coffee
Then There's Me
Conversations with Gravity
Good Luck Chuck
Slow Jam Moogy
About Last Night...
Summertime (The Overflow)
