Review Summary: Fuck a second chance, I won't let the devil in
Earl Sweatshirt has always been a man of few words. Far from Tyler, the Creator's zaniness, or Frank Ocean's gentle melancholy, the former Odd Future member has built a reputation of a tangled rhymes crafter. Each of his tracks features rhyme schemes built within other rhyme schemes, one catching up with the other (or vice versa) by the sheer manipulation of syllables and rhythms. No flippancy, no catchy chorus: only complex bars testifying to the rapper's - often tragic - state of mind.
Indeed, Earl's music has consistently tackled devastated territory - his grandmother's death on
Doris, or his father's death on
Some Rap Songs. Indulging in a pessimistic aura, his depressive flows and surreal samples have helped define the modern trends of abstract hip hop - far from the over-the-top egotrips of his idol MF DOOM, and closer to the misanthropy of Lil Ugly Mane. Yet
Sick! acts as a pivotal point for Earl, showcasing optimism that was previously unknown to him. Not that he's now delivering cheery ad-libs or talking about cute lil cats, but this new album indicates that his new responsibilities have influenced his music.
Two of the album's influences - his recent fatherhood and the pandemic - shape its lyrical content. The record's title alone immediately indicates the importance of COVID in the lyrics. References to masks, vaccines, quarantines and other joyous topics that have brightened up our holiday season sit alongside lyrics demonstrating the new responsibility he feels for his son. These two subjects force him to take a stand, he who until now preferred to spit his introspective diatribe. The title track sees him observing the fragility of life with the constant presence of disease, drugs, and violence. If this would have previously been an excuse for self-commiseration, he now addresses his ambition and how the risks he has taken have brought him the success he has reaped. With this title track, Earl shows us a new side of his personality: he's proud of his work - good for you bro! Similarly, in "Vision", Earl talks about how his success has benefited the people closest to him, while at the same time criticising the social ills that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. These themes stand throughout the album: it's about acceptance and moving forward in the face of new challenges. Small aside - that's what makes
Sick! an interesting album: Earl is doing better. I am happy that he is happy. I am happy to be able to write these words about an artist who has deserved a lil light in his life. Okay; posi vibes: out! Back to reviewing.
What doesn't change, however, is the length of the album. Since 2015, Earl has made a point of delivering records under thirty minutes, and this new opus is no exception. Most of the tracks are barely over a minute, and only three of them are over three minutes - an eternity for him these days. One of these tracks, "Tabula Rasa", sees him deliver a technical feat where words are stretched out from their original pronunciation, while the Armand Hammer duo - billy woods the rapper and Elucid the beatmaker - brings a welcome diversity against a backdrop of jazzy textures that reminisce his past work while bringing a slight twist to it thanks to the drumless canvas. This approach looms over the whole record: Earl dresses his traditionally lo-fi and cloudy hip hop with the darkest aesthetics of trap ("2010"), and sometimes with aerial synth chords almost devoid of beats ("Tabula Rasa"). Dilla's influence is also still evident with haunting organs and reverb-soaked guitars - "God Laughs" is
almost psychedelic - keep calm, ain't no Can though.
While this sonic eclecticism is to be praised, one can't help but want moar. This is partly due to the short time frame offered to most of the tracks - but not only. The songs' brevity was not a problem on the previous project, precisely because the album was assembled to be a fluid suite. Here, it's not so much the case anymore, especially because tracks sporting "classic" lengths are proper entities and no longer represent pieces of a cryptic puzzle. Ultimately, there are several tracks here that can survive in the wild age of streaming, yet the record doesn't feel
that cohesive. It was to be feared, but
Sick! suffers from the comparison with its predecessor,
Some Rap Songs - which remains one of the best abstract hip hop albums of the last decade. Nevertheless, Earl Sweatshirt proves that he prevails above the fray when it comes to capturing an emotional snapshot. His rapological talent is still there as well as the anxiety-inducing beats, but he doesn't do a complete overhaul here, preferring to take only a half-step forward by expanding the length of just a few songs.
In a way, it's not doing
Sick! justice to analyse it through the prism of auteur theory when you know the consistent quality of the discography it's part of. Eh, that's the game: an artist releasing a first project of this caliber would be beyond hyped. Earl, on the other hand, will have to be content with a few polite applauses, far from the effervescence usually provoked by his albums. It's tough. But we are more demanding with those we love.
