Tag: Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy – “Oh Yeah?” review

Steve Lacy is a 28 year old singer/songwriter, guitarist & producer from Compton, California known for being the guitarist of the now defunct Odd Future collective’s The Internet. Following a demo extended play in 2017, he would make his full-length studio debut in the spring of 2019 with Apollo XXI & his sophomore effort albeit major label debut Gemini Rights under RCA Records marked a huge artistic evolution compared to his early solo output to there point where his 3rd studio LP has become the most anticipated of his career.

The self-produced title track has a bit of a repetitive approach to the songwriting singing about being let out for the evening since he’s too young for death whereas “Is It Cool?” featuring SZA co-produced by his OF/Internet brethren Matt Martians blends alternative R&B, neo-soul, downtempo & neo-psychedelia to admit that the pair don’t even trust themselves. “The Feeling” incorporates secondary influences of psychedelic soul, bedroom pop & sophisti-pop asking why this person tested his patience.

Erykah Badu herself appears on “Pure Colour” teaming up to sing about 2 partners who desire to let them take control of one another so they can feel lighter while “Show You Me” reaches the midway point of the album with some cheery acoustics expressing the love he has for a bad boy. “Doom” continues from there with a nihilistically grungy 2-parter observing that people value validation instead of genuine connections while “nothing” sings about the inability of getting someone off his mind.

“LoveSexDrugBomb” winds down the last few moments of Oh Yeah? including a writing credit from Tyler, The Creator warmly yearning to have his partner right beside him while “Nice Shoes / In Your World” splits itself into 2 separate halves, climatically spiraling downwards for the sole purpose of him keeping to wish this body of work bestowed upon us. The alt-rock closing track “Bebe” sends it all off recalling the time I got my life screwed up.

Watching him blow up since Gemini Rights has been a long time coming for Steve Lacy as someone who’s been paying attention to him for almost a decade & Oh Yeah? contradicts the expansiveness of his idea. His production continues to push boundaries exploring neo-psychedelia, bedroom pop, indie folk, indie rock, alt-pop, singer/songwriter, alternative R&B, neo-soul, downtempo, psychedelic soul, sophisti-pop, alternative rock & grunge to tackle his usual themes of lust & longing from every angle he can possibly find.

Score: 4.5/5

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The Internet – “Hive Mind” review

It’s been 3 years since their magnum opus Ego Death & with 4 of it’s 5 members making their solo debuts within the past year, Odd Future subgroup The Internet is returning with their 4th full-length album.

Things begin with “Come Together”, where multiple band members beautifully sing in unison & the instrumental takes me back to Jamiroquai’s first 2 albums Emergency on Planet Earth & The Return of the Space Cowboy. The next song “Roll (Burbank Funk)” is taken over by guitarist Steve Lacy & it talks about listening to your heart over a psychedelic instrumental while the track “Come Over” sees Syd singing to this girl she loves over a funky instrumental. The song “La Di Da” sings about dancing with the instrumental suiting the content perfectly while the track “Stay the Night” is a laidback ballad about Syd not wanting this girl she’s with to go home for the evening. The song “Bravo” sees Syd singing to an ex over some prominent drums while the track “Mood” tells the story about a date over some pounding drums & some synth chords.

The song “Next Time / Humble Pie” talks about a woman she’ll never see again over a Neptunes inspired instrumental that’s pretty cool, but then it transitions into the second half pretty well about needing a real love over a more spacey beat. The track “It Gets Better (With Time)” sees Syd telling this woman just that over some dreamy synthesizers while the song “Look What U Started” tells this ex that she’s gonna pay over a funky instrumental. The song “Wanna Be” is a mellow guitar ballad asking this woman to become her girlfriend while the penultimate track “Beat Goes On” sees Matt Martians singing about moving forward & I like how the instrumental transitions from being funky to going into a more high-tempo drum & bass direction. The album then finishes with “Hold On”, where Syd singing to her girl about their love for each other over a dreamy yet settle beat.

I’ve been waiting on this for quite some time after the wait, it definitely lives up to my expectations. Not only is it almost as well written & vibrantly produced as the last album was, but you can just tell that everyone sounds happy to be back.

Score: 4/5