This is the 5th studio LP from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & producer 2hollis. Coming up as 1/2 of Mage Eternal & a member of OSX under his original moniker Drippysoup, he would go onto to put out a total of 7 extended plays along with a couple mixtapes & 3 full-lengths until signing to Interscope Records. It’s already been a year & a half since he made his major label debut Star pivoted towards an electronic dance music sound contrasting his previous output & he’s back once again for Pirouette.
“Spring” opens up with this EDM intro talking about his desires of doing to his romantic interest what spring does to the trees whereas “Skin” produced by Ginseng talks about his wishes of pulling time back into his arms so he could find this woman from the start. “The Lady in Red” expresses his amazement towards a female wearing all red looking like a nosebleed while the self-produced “Pressure” calls back to “eldest child” a year & a half ago.
Meanwhile on “Human After All”, we have 2hollis describing a certain type of pain that made him realize his own humanity just before “SOPHIE” remembers the late bubblegum bass/hyperpop pioneer of the same name. The 2nd single “Sex” blends electropop, dance-pop, electro house, electroclash & hyperpop to talk about intercourse with him while the lead single “Hurt” fuses electropop, hyperpop, fidget house, electro, EDM glitch hop, deconstructed club & breakbeat admits to yearning for him.
“Eyes Wide Closed” kicks off the 2nd half talking about wanting to be fucked like the other person partaking hates him while “Betrayal” talks about not wanting to take this individual’s money. “i2i” confronts someone who he can’t agree with in a single sentence tying while the 3rd & final single” Warhorse” combines digicore, rage, deconstructed club, industrial hip hop & hardwave sampling “Don’t Tell” by DJ Clap to talk about the aspects of love he considers chaotic.
Winding down the last leg of the album, the song “Today” samples “Droopy Likes Your Face” by C418 confessing his ways have been somewhat broken & praying upon a new saint until encouraging the “Heaven Speaker” to show him what heaven truly is. “My 1 & Only” takes a compositional approach for a minute & a half, feeling more like an interlude than anything while the closing track “Daisy” finishes Pirouette reflecting upon his life, his relationships & the emotions he was having when he was younger.
Of the 2 full-lengths 2hollis has put out since the Interscope deal came about, Pirouette makes some noteworthy improvements above it’s predecessor a year & a half ago. The electropop, hard dance, indietronica, rage, hyperpop dance-pop, electro house, electroclash, fidget house, electro, EDM glitch hop, deconstructed club, breakbeat, digicore, rage, industrial hip hop & hardwave production refines the EDM sounds of Star exploring the human experience of emotion along with the intensity & many shades of it mostly portrayed through the lens of love & further exploring all the building & destruction it can bring.
Score: 4/5
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