Review Summary: "I am in the heart of darkness"
Before this album I did a reactive thing. I lumped Bladee into the categorical conclusion that was most logical at the time along with Yung Lean and other more typical cloud rap figures. The music seemed to have a very tongue and cheek appraoch to internet culture and wasn't anything groundbreaking; just trap beats over mildly interesting syntns and questionable vocals. Well, that was until I heard this. Here Bladee takes this formula and transcends it, creating a work that goes beyond perhaps even its own intent, into the realm of high-art.
How a teenager and his producer, who are known for lo-fi bedroom hip-hop and internet R&B could produce a record of this quality is really quite a mystery, and a testament to the power of an artists' hidden potential. It literally came out of nowhere. Like an icy apparition, Bladee takes on an alien, detached persona whose unique vocals become an instrument of their own against a backdrop of a ambient art pop/ new wave. Its so early 80s in sound that its quite unexpected, and it morphs the music into a chimera that can't be put into a specific genre.
Production wise the album is crystalline perfection. You will be hard-pressed to find an album since that has this level of production. Whitearmor obviously went into full mad genius mode for this album, crafting textures and synth pads that sound like they belong on the rain drenched streets of Blade Runner, or perhaps sounds of the world to come. While Bladee spits lines aboug losing contact with reality in the midst of drug use and hedonism, his hopelessness is a powerful statement about the unique psychology of the current generation. This kind of apathetic attitude mixed with the typical hip-hop themes of self-destruction, and acknowledgement of that destruction through this lens of total disinterest with finding meaning, creates a poetic and scarily dystopian world in the album that is Eversince. Like a world of ice, concrete, and cold lights where everything is passive pleasures and tortured souls.
Bladee transcends his scene, his style, and music in general. This album is a watershed moment for alternative R&B in its atmospheric and totally creative execution. Quite frankly, there are no comparisons. The grooves and melodies on these songs are gorgeous, and it is a great example of modern pop perfection. Bladee pours his emotions out in a cascade of cybernetic beats and robotic vocals that come off as classy and inventive as could be. Truly a legendary album that creates a sound that may be the first of its kind.
