As you probably / possibly already know The Internet is the latest neo-r’n'b project from the Odd Future collective, specifically the work of their deejay (who is, defenders of Odd Futures apparent homophobic / misogynist lyrical content are quick to point point both a young woman and a lesbian. Which really isn’t that far removed from, “hey I can’t be a racist, I like asian porn / one of best mates at school was a black”, frankly) and her cohort Matt Martian. But let’s just talk about the music…
Quasi-title-track opener shimmers and stammers; low-in-the-mix vocal samples populate this statement of intent before segueing into the more chilled back of They Say/ Shangrila – the breathed vocals add a propellent the sparse rhythm. By track three – She DGIF (that’s Don’t Give a Fuck) the evident darkness of this album finally makes its self apparent – the synthetic kick drum thumps as the title is repeated. Then there’s the purposefully jazzy-cocophonic and challenging titled C*nt.
“Baby, just ignore the consequence / You look like you need a little confidence” is the ill-advice amid the glorious sea of the lead single Cocaine. Left Brain delivers his rap deftly before the track segues into the instrumental Tevie. If things weren’t messed enough already a 90s chunka-chunka jam with she-rocker-esque rap becomes something out of the r’n'b twilight zone during Ode to a Dream. Ninetie’s r’n'b joints continue in their inspiration on tracks like Lincoln and the latest single Fastlane; while more breezed / breathed jazz-spiartions are explored on Web Of Me and She Knows and the heartbeat stopping album closer The Garden.
I wonder, though; if in a moment where your thoughts are condensed into 140 characters long; where ideas are bit-torrented rather than discussed; where being entitled to an opinion has become a sense of selfish entitlement to not value the opinions of others; in an age where this album review is probably too long to read and where ideas are seemingly required to be reduced to a binary level for everyone’s ease of understanding; if this record has fallen foul of these tyrannies and lacks the time required to let the ideas explored here ferment and cement into something much greater. - review by Andrew Tidball
