Album Review: BROCKHAMPTON’s “iridescence”
The best boy band since One Direction returns with an unpredictable and emotional sound
SuppliedBROCKHAMPTON
iridescence
Question Everything, Inc
www.brckhmptn.com
Following the 2017 release of BROCKHAMPTON’s mind-numbing Saturation Trilogy, the alternative hip hop collective has returned with iridescence, the first instalment of its The Best Years of Our Lives Trilogy. With the group’s removal of founding member Ameer Vaan due to sexual and emotional abuse charges, this album serves as a recalibration of the band’s sound and the start of a new chapter.
The album begins with “NEW ORLEANS,” which throws us right into the mix as each band member takes a turn to showcase their respective verse over a droning, hard-hitting beat filled with distorted bass kicks that serve as the track’s driving force. The band also pulls no stops when it comes to delivering their more grimy songs. “BERLIN” uses the sound of a car revving as the production focal point, whereas in “J’OUVERT,” Joba and Merlin deliver some of the most intense and hard-hitting verses on the entire album. The track list also provides us with some bangers as well, with songs like “VIVID” and “HONEY” allowing Dom McLennon to shine as he spits catchy verses over funky production.
The album occasionally gives us a reprieve from some of the more intense tracks, with the soft piano and haunting vocals of “THUG LIFE” contrasting with the explosive energy of “NEW ORLEANS.” This eye of the storm moment is repeated as the dreamy ballad “SAN MARCOS” breaks up the intense tracks surrounding it. The track’s head-swaying guitar and the London Community Gospel Choir’s chilling refrain, “I want more out of life than this,” grounds its focus on Joba’s struggle with suicidal thoughts and depression. The almost sickeningly sweet ballad “TONYA” helps close out the album as Bearface’s powerful vocals take on struggles with self-worth and life in the limelight.
Overall, iridescence resets BROCKHAMPTON’s sonic direction with a powerful tracklist filled with a mix of bittersweet ballads and hardcore hip–hop. Throughout the album, the band’s members address their struggles with self-worth, depression, suicidal thoughts, and difficult decisions they have had to make, serving as a reminder that fame often does not come without a cost. This album is an emotional, intense, and scattered reworking of their identity that represents their humanity even through their season of success.
