Review Summary: Yeezy Yeezy Yeezy just jumped over Yeezus!
Perplexity is a word that comes to mind after listening to TLOP for the first time. After going out of ones way to start a free trial on Tidal, listening to the album, and thinking about what you just heard, you can't help but be a bit baffled. This is a peculiar album at first listen, and it takes a few spins to get used to. After almost 3 years since the release of his last album, Kanye brings us an album that tops Yeezus in terms of great songs and production, but may not have reached its full potential due to completeness and filler.
Without a doubt, TLOP has its fair share of great tracks. A good percentage of this album's tracks are catchy and flow fairly well. The album is kicked off with the track Ultralight Beam which is a soft, yet hard hitting gospel influenced intro. It begins with Kanye singing by himself over the gospel-esque instrumental, until a choir accompanies him and quickly escalates the dramatic atmosphere of the song. The addition of the choir and Chance the Rapper into the mix makes this song feel less like a song and more like an ascension into something amazing. Kanye definitely has retained his ability to produce a sound that people want to hear. Tracks like Father Stretch My Hands pt. 1 and 2 are examples of this as they are instantly appealing with their upbeat atmosphere. The trap flavored beats of these two songs contrast with the production of Ultralight Beam, but not to a detriment. There are also tracks like Famous and FML that offer beat switch ups that keep the tracks interesting. After Kanye is done with his verses on Famous, the instrumental is switched and a sample from the song "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy is brought into the mix, making the song very whimsical and fun. As mentioned before, the majority of the album contains great songs that are enjoyable individually as well as together.
A factor that plays into the quality of the songs on this album is the production. There is a variety of production on this album which gives it an array of sounds in an atmospheric sense. There are the tracks that feature trap flavored beats like FSMH 1 & 2, which were mentioned before, and the song Facts. Facts, originally being released as a part of Kanye's GOOD Friday single series had a different beat when it first dropped. It was a trap style beat, but was basic and forgettable. The album version, also known as the Charlie Heat Version, is everything but, as it displays some of the best production on the album. The beat is fierce and rambunctious. This beat could easily get any listener out of their seat, regardless of if they like Kanye's verses and flows on it. Another greatly produced track is No More Parties in L.A. which is produced by the legendary Madlib. The beat is reminiscent of Kanye's older material, but without sounding dated. Aside from the styles on the aforementioned tracks, minimal and down tempo beats are present on a handful of songs. Songs like FML, Wolves, and 30 Hours feature quiet, more subdued beats with light drums. Though Highlights has its explosive moments, it too has its minimal moments during the verses in which quiet synth keys are being played underneath the drum track. These songs shift the feel of the album and diversify it. Overall, the variety of production gives the album a different feel as it keeps the direction of it switching constantly.
The issue of completeness as well as the presence of filler is what hinders TLOP from recognizing it's full potential. The album may have stand out tracks, but some of them come off sounding somewhat unfinished. If not unfinished, they seem to end at a point where more could have been done. Some of this briefness may be attributed to the fact that Kanye doesn't have as many features on this album like his previous albums, but that's only a speculation. Feedback is an example of a song that is good to the ear, but falls short which could leave some listeners wanting more. Though not a bad song, the length combined with the song's somewhat lack of substance can leave it being forgotten and skipped. FSMH 1 & 2 are parts of a whole, but by themselves are short and could have been extended in order to maintain the undeniable momentum that they build up. Waves is also fairly short and seems unambitious when considering the lazy production and lack of Kanye on the latter half of the song.
Songs like Low Lights, Freestyle 4, and Silver Surfer are undeniably filler tracks and could have been trimmed off the album. Despite what they could be offering toward the album in terms of artistry, the pointless vibe that theses tracks/interludes induce affect the listenability as a whole. A slight exception can be given to Freestyle 4 because despite it's importance to the album, it is interesting to listen to with its decent beat and well-placed outro by Desiigner. Fade, sounding more like a song that would appear on a Daft Punk album, did not contribute to the album as a closer. The nonchalant verses by Kanye, Ty Dolla $ign, and Post Malone leave this song without finality, ultimately reducing it to no more than filler. As mentioned previously, the filler affects the listenability of the album and combined with the lack of completeness of some tracks, the quality of TLOP is brought down a few pegs.
Overall, TLOP is not a bad album at all. It does a great job of combining Kanye's various sounds that he has created over the years. This album has many songs that can be replayed constantly without losing their flare. The production, though very diverse, is interesting and fitting for the majority of the tracks. Kanye has not lost the ability to make music that is impactful, and he has proved with this album that he is still relevant. It is not without its low points, and could have been thought out more in some aspects, but it still provides a sound that can keep fans loving Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye.
Actual Rating: 3.8
