Review Summary: It’s a shame that the album that proves Kanye to be a truly three-dimensional artist comes off as so narrow and soul-crushingly one-dimensional.
808s & Heartbreak is a far cry from what many have come to expect from Kanye West recently. Dropping the thematic progression of album titles in response to his newfound fame and recent personal tragedies, West seems to be trying everything possible to differentiate himself from the old Kanye. Sung entirely in virtually one tone and key with the polarizing studio tool Auto-Tune, featuring only a scattering of rapping by guest stars, and featuring minimalist production with a foundation on the relatively ancient Roland TR-808 drum machine, 808s & Heartbreak is a definitely different. Unfortunately, different does not necessitate better, and West’s preoccupation with letting it all hang out leaves what used to be the ace up his sleeve underutilized: his talent for making music that resonates with one’s body as well as one’s mind.
The best thing that could be said about West’s singing and use of Auto-Tune on this record is that, rather than improve his lackluster vocals, it only enhances the utterly depressed vibe of the record, making him sound like a despondent robot. Having lost his mother and broken up with his fiancée within the past year, West does everything within his power to let his audience know that, even when famous and fabulously wealthy, life can suck.
From the bleak “Heartless,” where he laments “the coldest story ever told / somewhere far along this road / he lost his soul / to a woman so heartless,” to complaining that “just lookin’ at your history / you like the girl in Misery,” it seems Kanye has been having some severe girl troubles. The upbeat Mr. West the world knows from hits like “Stronger” and “Through The Wire” has retreated almost entirely into a cocoon of self-flagellation and grief, a change that, while refreshing in a morbid way, becomes disheartening and relentless over the course of the album.
And that’s saying nothing about the production. Opener “Say You Will” gives a whole new meaning to the word “sparse,” a six-minute long mood piece with only a vaguely tribal-sounding drum machine and a beep and a boop here and there to accompany West’s Auto-Tuned vocals. Overall, the music here serves only to support an atmosphere of angst and simplicity, all the better to focus on West’s lyrics and message. Unfortunately, while some of the production does this admirably (noticeably the gentle piano on “Welcome To Heartbreak” and the juxtaposition between the cinematic strings and jungle drums on “Bad News”), too many times does it fail to lift the song up and becomes a boring experimental exercise.
For someone with the music world in the palm of his hand, 808s & Heartbreak is a bold and brave artistic move. Breaking with nearly every convention of hip-hop and daring to do what he wanted to do rather than follow the proven success of his earlier albums, West has again proven that he is a talent to be reckoned with, and surely not one to be predictable. It’s a shame that the album that proves Kanye to be a truly three-dimensional artist comes off as so narrow and soul-crushingly one-dimensional.
