It is exciting to see a young black band grow with every album, and indisputably that is what’s happened with Odd Future/Sony Records artist, The Internet. Comprised of Odd Future members Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians, along with band members Jameel Bruner, Patrick Paige, Steve Lacy, and Christopher A. Smith, the urban alternative outfit manages to be soulfully smooth, credibly street (minus the gratuitous vulgarity), and eclectically hip at the same time. Boasting guest spots from such young stars as Janelle Monáe, Kaytranada, Tyler The Creator, and James Fauntleroy, Ego Death is an impressive junior collection all on its own. “Penthouse Cloud,” “Under Control,” “Just Sayin/I Tried,” “For the World,” and “Go With It” (featuring an astonishingly good Vic Mensa) are all groovetastic high tech machines.
It is exciting to see a young black band grow with every album, and indisputably that is what’s happened with Odd Future/Sony Records artist, The Internet. Comprised of Odd Future members Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians, along with band members Jameel Bruner, Patrick Paige, Steve Lacy, and Christopher A. Smith, the urban alternative outfit manages to be soulfully smooth, credibly street (minus the gratuitous vulgarity), and eclectically hip at the same time. Boasting guest spots from such young stars as Janelle Monáe, Kaytranada, Tyler The Creator, and James Fauntleroy, Ego Death is an impressive junior collection all on its own. “Penthouse Cloud,” “Under Control,” “Just Sayin/I Tried,” “For the World,” and “Go With It” (featuring an astonishingly good Vic Mensa) are all groovetastic high tech machines.
“Something’s Missing” is a succulent taste of the smoldering, atmospheric world inhabited by these musical Afro Futurists. With hints of astral jazz, neo-soul, and just good, old-fashioned R&B, the cut represents further growth from a band that was already strangely brilliant in all their musical alchemy. On “Something’s Missing,” after what feels like the completion of a radio-ready mid-tempo groove, the song inexplicably changes its entire course about two-thirds through and becomes a laidback, hooky hip hop soul jam. Both movements work independent of each other and together as a solid whole. They also reflect the various disparate influences layering each of the songs on Ego Death. If you’re not hip to the three releases by The Internet, take a listen and see if you can join this fresh and exciting movement in black musicianship.
By L. Michael Gipson