Nonstop mind-numbing livestreams, engagement farming YouTube collection, and infinite scrolling: These are the improvements of an internet-brain-rotted era that craves fixed stimuli. che, newly 18, understands this. Since his first album, closed captions, the rapper has capitalized on this data by eliminating all empty house in his music, crafting dense, wall-of-sound orchestration that leaves no room to breathe. On his riot-inducing new album, Sayso Says, he delivers escapist celebration anthems whose maximalist sound masks a barely hole perspective.
With the assistance of normal companion in crime natexco and some different degenerates, che architects glitchy, fast-paced textures designed to spike dopamine and fend off melatonin with reckless disregard for the approaching crash. It looks like being invited to your buddy’s home when their dad and mom are away for a weekend. Che abuses the liberty and hundreds up FL Studio with each erratic plugin, dizzying instrument, and obscure reference he can get his arms on. Hearken to the scattered array of synths on “NUNCA HACER COCAINA,” which, in a distinct setting, may make up the quirkiest textual content tone ever. Or “GET NAKED,” the place a Japanese vocaloid pattern hangs within the background and goads che on as he teases plebeians for consuming catfish. Over 17 tracks, all of it provides as much as quite a bit to course of, however processing isn’t the purpose. che’s right here to impress nerve after nerve and supply an #expertise.
Che’s woozy vocal maneuvers are one thing of a information by means of the noise as he unfurls stuttered flows and TED Speak-style chants amidst the whirlwind of chaotic manufacturing. He’s basically Costa from Venture X, urging you to keep away from something that may smash the excessive. On “Hex On My Chest, It’s Going Down,” he repeats motivational refrains (“It’s okay to be down, simply get by means of it”) as a ticking time bomb of hi-hats and ragey synths lurk within the shadows. On different tracks, he disassembles pop filters and summons a childlike glee when flexing the capabilities of his armory and unleashing random digs at Lil Xan; it’s like watching a child open presents on Christmas morning. The one time che slows down and contemplates is on the nightmarish ballad “Youngsters Shouldn’t Play With Lifeless Issues,” the place, in a deafening glare of synth pads, he cries out till the sign will get misplaced. On nearer “My Favourite Coloration Is Crimson,” his last magic trick is flooding his voice underneath a sea of fuzzy bass till a spooky echo of screams slowly dissipates.
If che introduced the identical eager consideration to element to his songwriting that’s evident in his world-building, Sayso Says would really feel totally realized. More often than not, although, che’s filling up the lyric sheet with generic “Hollywood ladies” and bland boasts about being “cooler than” some imaginary foe. Take a rapper like Ken Carson, for instance, who has remodeled his sound within the final 12 months by sketching out his hedonistic Atlanta lair with newly playful imagery. And not using a Google search, you’d by no means think about che is from the identical metropolis. It’s clear on Sayso Says that che is aware of immersive atmospheres will at all times draw listeners in. However so as to hold them there, he’ll must flesh out the finer factors.
