VOIR DIRE

Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist

I'm not gonna pretend I know what Earl Sweatshirt is talking about, except maybe outside of the basketball references (of which there are many on VOIR DIRE). However, I always will give time to a new Earl project because I enjoy the sound of his deep voice and the way he crafts his rhymes. I find his presence to be quite hypnotic, on the level of an MF DOOM for example. I enjoyed his earlier work for the sinister bite it had, but as Earl transitioned into this more heady, stream-of-consciousness, laid back style, I still found enjoyment in his beat selection. VOIR DIRE continues that heady streak, now supported by dusty soul, gospel, and subtly psychedelic instrumentals crafted by The Alchemist. I can't say that the album is very attention grabbing, but it is pleasant when it's on.

With every Earl project, I know I'm going to get at least one song I would consider one of the best of the year. Mancala is that song this time around. I absolutely love the gospel sample with those cascading pianos. It's the type of instrumental that immediately fills me with light and joy, a tone that you don't often hear Earl rhyme over. Him and his guest, Vince Staples, also deliver their best performances and bars of the project. Some other standout instrumentals are 100 High Street with its dramatic, sweeping strings, 27 Braids has this effortlessly cool guitar lick and some great ambiance surrounding it, and lastly, I was really impressed with the chord progression The Alchemist cut together for Sirius Blac.

While the album is generally agreeable, there were a couple tracks that I didn't particularly care for. The first one was Sentry. I felt like the vocal sample was quite distracting, and MIKE's flow felt a little off to me. Although, to his credit, MIKE's flow did seem to magically lock in as his verse progressed, suggesting that he heard a different rhythm within the beat and I as the listener took a while to catch up to him; almost like there's some metric modulation going on. I can't be as charitable to Heat Check. This one has my least favourite instrumental; sounding fairly campy and ironic. I can picture Thundercat singing something preposterous over it, but it doesn't quite fit Earl's seriousness. He also sounds his sleepiest on this track which is not my favourite Earl mode. Lastly, I couldn't get into The Caliphate which also features Staples. Staples had a particularly rough time riding this agonizingly slow beat. Every line felt like pouring molasses out of a cold jar.

VOIR DIRE is another decent project from Earl. I wished that there was a little more intentionality behind the tracks; perhaps some clearer topics as well. However, I don't think I can really expect that from Earl at this point. He seems to be the type of person who hears an instrumental and just speaks his mind with no real concern for crafting memorable hooks or choruses. The purity of the art-form can lead to lightning-in-a-bottle moments, but in general, it makes it difficult to connect on a personal level beyond just catching a vibe. Sometimes that's enough for me though, given the right time and place.