This album starts out with “NEW ORLEANS”, and BROCKHAMPTON right off the bat bring in a hell of a banger. It’s the start that I needed to hear honestly. I love the choir sample, Dom McLennon’s wild and animated verse, the wonderfully chilled out chorus from Kevin Abstract, it’s all gravy. But all of this, the different personalities and clashing styles of what makes BROCKHAMPTON genuinely exciting here. This is a very anthemic, old-school intro. It’s equal parts wildly experimental while also sounding sort of a throwback track in parts. Joba sounds great, Matt Champion sounds great, the pop-culture references are on point, this is a fantastic intro. On the other hand, “THUG LIFE” touches down on the more R&B aspects as well as keeping in touch with their “Boy Band” side. But honestly, it’s awesome and ends up transitioning this album very nicely to its next moments. It’s got some emotional vocals and some beautiful instrumentals, it’s beautiful. And shoutout to bearface for some of these vocals. On the other hand, “BERLIN” is wildly aggressive and just plain grimy. The beat here isn’t nearly as polished or anything close, it’s just booming. This one has some very hypnotic flows and has some club appeal. But for me, it does take much longer to get going. When some of those backing G-Funk elements come in and Dom and Matt’s verses come in. But this is easily one of my least favorite tracks of the bunch, even if there re parts I do like, like Joba’s verse. “SOMETHING ABOUT HIM” does get the album flowing back in the right way though. I honestly love how the gang event these very aggressive and in-your-face bangers with these very personal and sweet interludes that one way or another warm my heart. It’s a highly effective interlude. Then we have “WHERE THE CASH AT” which is the sort of wildly charismatic track I needed right now. Meryln’s verse here is just so freakin’ animated. And honestly, that’s what I crave from these guys though. I mean, this isn’t the most aggressive or the biggest banger here, but we’re getting there.
“WEIGHT” on the other hand is one of the most memorable tracks here. This one maybe isn’t just charismatic and oozing with personality, but it’s instantly one of the most relatable and personal tunes here. Kevin Abstract here goes deep into his own sexuality, relationships, friendships, family, fame, and so much more. And that’s all before this wild beat hits. It’s a wildly emotional tune, and Job on the chorus here sounds fantastic. It’s also intense instrumentally and seems borderline out of control. In a lot of ways, this just seems like a mission statement for the band. Then we have “DISTRICT”, and this is honestly exactly where I love hearing them. I love the very classy instrumental that just dissolves quickly into this grotesque and looming beat that’s just so in your face. This is the sort of beat I needed to hear right about now. The contrast between some of these verses is just fantastic. There are wild and charismatic performances, but there’s also some more low-key and dangerous ones. It’s like a variety show and whos-who of Alternative Rap. And the best part of all of this is just how adventurous this comes off. BROCKHAMPTON have a sound, but there isn’t a single moment here where they’re not pushing it to a new extreme or trying something new. “LOOPHOLE” isn’t a bad interlude. But I can’t help but feel like this sound clip diving into friends and fame could have landed in another track. However, I really love hearing these more upbeat and wild tunes like “TAPE”. It’s still got a lot of classy elements, which is interesting. But there certainly is a wild feeling to this, and this continues to be some of the groups most personal and emotional bars to date. All of that, without coming off as soft or weak. It’s just so enjoyable, and they’ve become so much more immediate as a group. “J’OUVERT” however has a much more murky and dangerous sound. It’s times like this that I really wish that all of that garbage never went down with Ameer Vann, because he would have sounded like an absolute animal here. But that’s his own damn fault. But guys like Joba do a fantastic job of making up for that with some of their wildest performances of the album. I just wish I was a little bit more into the beat here, which just seems a little bit adventurous than what we’ve gotten here.
Now, the upbeat, funky and cold feeling to “HONEY” is actually one of the coolest things I’ve heard on this album in a while. It’s moments like this that I feel like BROCKHAMPTON’s sound comes off the most effective. The verses here from Dom McLennon keep the very aggressive and rapid-fire style of this album just as stunning. But some of the more Pop and R&B elements here are done so well and give this such a cutting-edge sound to it. The production is brilliant, the beat just doesn’t sit still, it’s really good. Of all of the shorter interlude track here, “VIVID” is certainly the more aggressive of the bunch. It has a grimier beat as well as some murky verses. And honestly, it’s alright. But for the first time here, I feel like this interlude is a little bit underwritten and unfocused. “SAN MARCOS” on the other hand sort of reminds me of Kevin Abstract’s solo work. And honestly, it sounds really great. I love the acoustic strumming and the soulful vocals that just come off so heartfelt and emotional. It’s all auto-tuned which is certainly something I’m iffy on, but here it comes off classy and makes things incredibly charming. Even that choir towards the end comes off so classy. I really hope we get more tracks like this in the future. But with “TONYA” this album take a hard left turn, with another piano ballad showing off just how well these guys can pull off emotional tunes. It’s so dreary and so straightforward, but it easily comes off just as genuine as some of their more aggressive tracks. I mean, they do advertise themselves as a “Boy Band”. And yea, that’s what this comes off as. They go into fame and friends once again, which are gigantic themes for this album. But it’s done in a really classy way, and even some of the more rap moments in the second half are really fantastic. “FABRIC” is even more of a left turn of a finale. This reminds me of something we would have heard from the third part of the “SATURATION” trilogy. It’s tough to pinpoint and the instrumental seems to be constantly shifting. It’s times like this that I totally get what Kevin and the boys meant when they said this album was heavily influenced by Radiohead’s “Kid A”. This one does sort of throw me off though. I’m not too wild about the verse, but I’m totally intrigued by the adventurous instrumental and the sung hook. This is still a wildly personal and adventurous Rap album, but the fact that these guys are growing and show no signs of stopping is amazing.
Rating: 8.5/10
Give A Listen To: “NEW ORLEANS”, “WEIGHT”, “TAPE”, “TONYA"
Least Favorite Track: “BERLIN”
Genre: Alternative Hip Hop / Alternative R&B
Overall Thoughts: BROCKHAMPTON return after “saturating” the Hip Hop scene with an adventurous, emotional and undoubtedly personal album. Going into this album, me and I’m sure a lot of others really didn’t know what to expect out of these guys. And I mean, can you blame them? They’ve been through a lot in the last 6 months, and as good as the “SATURATION” trilogy was, it was often hard to pinpoint. But “iridescence” is highly adventurous and well written follow up to the tapes that made them famous. There are plenty of great bangers, charismatic performances from the whole crew, and teary-eyed ballads that come off better than anyone could have expected. I think the most exciting thing about this project is, I honestly think BROCKHAMPTON haven’t even peaked yet. This is such a great album, and I think they’re just going to keep going up from here.
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