Description
On his fifth studio LP ‘You’re Dead!’, 30-year-old LA producer Flying Lotus continues to make his particular brand of musical experimentation look like child’s play.
Featuring appearances from artists Snoop Dogg, Angel Deradoorian, Thundercat and Kendrick Lamar, ‘You’re Dead!’ also sees FlyLo rapping under his Captain Murphy alter-ego.
In a vein similar to the one celebrated on his previous album, 2012’s ‘Until The Quiet Comes’, Lotus repeatedly obliterates genre.
Throughout the record’s run, Lotus gleefully ducks and weaves between hip hop, ambient, bass and electronica sounds with a creative flourish that if left in the hands of a lesser mind, would end up a fractured mess.
With only two of the album’s nineteen tracks hitting the three-minute mark – and despite cuts like the fleeting ‘Eyes Above’ and ‘Fkn Dead’ almost begging for an extension – the record remains together and slick, with the compact songs sliding politely into one another.
The Kendrick Lamar assisted ‘Never Catch Me’ is true ear candy. The tune commences with contemplative, increasingly snappy, aggressive wordplay from Lamar. When he breaks, intruding EDM synth-claps pair up with layers of warped electronica, then just after things settle down for a laid-back poppy refrain – the record switches up once more.
Tracks like ‘Turkey Dog Coma’ and ‘Cold Dead’ make impact, but eventually descend into familiar Lotus territory. The jittery, excited ‘Moment Of Hesitation’ (one of the tracks that features music ledge Herbie Hancock) goes one better though, and is an impressive, meandering blast of hectic jazz-fusion.
Compelling highlights, ‘The Boys Who Died In Their Sleep’ and ‘Decent Into Madness’ towards the backend of the tracklisting revel in their perky, outlandish and detailed production.
