The electronic
producer has been releasing audial hallucinogens for the last decade. His last
effort, Until the Quiet Comes, was one of my favourite records of 2012, a
smooth and jazzy ride through the subconscious. You’re Dead! is comparatively less smooth but ten times more jazzy,
scattered with walking bass, saxophone solos, bebop pianos and drum freakouts.
There’s a lot of instrumental noodling on this album that I’m still trying to
work out whether I like or not. The musicianship is certainly impressive, that’s
for sure.
Of course, Flying Lotus doesn’t do it all himself. Indie R&B artist, Thundercat, helps
with most of the bass. Others handle the drums and keys, including Herbie
Hancock. Herbie who? Oh dear, let me educate you. WARNING: THE MUSIC VIDEO
BELOW IS TERRIFYING.
Vocals are meanwhile brought by a variety of guests.
Kendrick Lamar drops some fiery verses on ‘Never Catch Me’. Angel Deradoorian
sings angelicly on ‘Siren song’. Snoop Dogg even makes a feature on one of the songs (or is he
still referring to himself as Snoop Lion?).
Overall, with its noodling instrumentation and multiple guest stars, the whole thing ends up
being one of FlyLo's busiest and most disorientating records yet. Some of it, namely the first four tracks, doesn't do much for me because its so scatterbrain. However, as chaotic as it
feels, to dismiss the whole album as a mess would be ignorant. As was the case with Until the Quiet Comes, there's a huge emphasis on keeping the music flowing, and all the tracks seem to slide perfectly together like pieces of one big psychedelic jigsaw puzzle. There’s
also a clear journey taking place. The album starts off epic and
triumphant but begins to take a dark turn towards the end, like an acid trip
gone bad.
These darker moments towards the latter half are among some of my
favourite on the album. ‘Descent into madness’ features some spooky vocal
harmonies from Thundercat akin to Mike Patton and is a really chilling track. This is immediately followed by another creepy number, ‘The Boys Who
Died in Their Sleep’, a bizarre and twisted track in which Flying Lotus
provides vocals himself under the guise of Captain Murphy, featuring the
disturbing repeated hook ‘ take another pill, take another pill’. Part of me would love
to see Flying Lotus develop this side more. It makes for an interesting glimpse into the musician's possible future.
★★★★☆
TRACK TASTER: