Every Sunday, the Free Review highlights the most significant releases of the week. This week, we tackle new albums from The Smile, Astrid Sonne, and evilgiane, as well as tracks from Justin Timberlake, Megan Thee Stallion, and Ice Spice. In addition, we’ve included some reviews from January that haven’t appeared in the Sunday Summary.

Albums

The Smile Wall of Eyes

On their 2022 album, A Light for Attracting Attention, The Smile showcased a thrilling new direction for some of music’s most consistent innovators. Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, along with percussionist Tom Skinner, have kept the Radiohead flame alive in the eight years since the band’s A Moon Shaped Pool, bending their existing sound into knottier, proggier shapes. The Smile’s sophomore effort, Wall of Eyes, feels like a companion piece to their debut, and Greenwood has admitted that the album’s songs were hewn together from the same “backlog of ideas” formulated during the COVID lockdowns. But it differs in key ways; Wall forgoes the moments of bruising post-punk (Light’s “You Will Never Work In Television Again”) in favor of subtler, more dynamic arrangements, and its compositions feel looser and more experimental. It’s a softer, less confrontational body of work, with less to prove - Light, while terrific, bore the weight of Radiohead’s legacy, tussling with its unfair but inevitable baggage. The wider range offered here results in some jaw-dropping evolutions - “Friend of a Friend” marries seventies soft rock to shuffling jazz, and closer “You Know Me!” features one of Yorke’s most delicate performances and Greenwood’s most intricate, dramatic arrangements. But the album’s shining moment is the penultimate, ten-minute epic “Bending Hectic,” their best song to date - its gorgeous composition sounds like an update on Radiohead’s In Rainbows, but in its final stretch, it combusts into a Sabbath-esque blast of doom metal. It suggests that, even three decades into their career, Yorke and Greenwood still have some tricks up their sleeves, and Wall of Eyes stands as some of their best work to date. B+

Astrid Sonne Great Doubt

On her third album, violist and electronic musician Astrid Sonne makes experimental music that is accessible as it is difficult to define. Great Doubt is the Copenhagen musician’s most pop-forward effort to date, bringing her voice to the front of the mix, emphasizing song-craft as much as atmosphere. Her artful use of dissonance and intimate, closed-mic’d vocals recalls the work of art pop innovator Tirzah, though her viola adds a uniquely organic touch to the album’s trip-hop influenced drums and woozy synth pads. The lyrics here are simple and concise, but she turns single phrases into hypnotic refrains - “you look at me / do you wanna have a baby?”, she sings plaintively on “Do you wanna.” She remains most talented at composition; centerpiece “Boost” is an instrumental piece that sounds like breakbeat stripped down to its essentials, and “Overture” is an expert piece of scene-building that creates its own, almost unbearably pretty, microcosm of sound. But closer “Say you love me” puts all the pieces together, resulting in the album’s best, most fully realized moment. It’s gorgeous, tender, and forward-thinking, an encapsulation of Great Doubt’s unique vision. C

evilgiane #HEAVENSGATE VOL. 1

New York collective Surf Gang is responsible for some of the decade’s brightest, lushest trap music, largely due to the work of producer and founder evilgiane, who produces the bulk of their work. On his debut album, #HEAVENSGATE VOL. 1, the musician offers a sampler of the group’s artistry and aesthetic, an enjoyable smattering of technicolor trap cuts that highlight the producer’s array of styles. Much of his work is informed by the music of Pi’erre Bourne, whose crayon box arsenal of synths is clearly a guiding force here, but he also stretches into early Aphex Twin-style electronic on “WHAT SHE’S HAVING” and rage rap on “PAP SHIESTY.” While some of the sonic elements bleed together over the album’s duration, the project’s biggest drawback is the interchangeable nature of Surf Gang’s seemingly bottomless roster. Despite standout verses from house musicians Harto Falión and Slimesito, the best moments on the album belong to borrowed guests such as Rx Papi, Anycia, and 03 Greedo, the latter of whom steals the show twice over on “SIP SIP” and “BEEN DA WAVE.” Otherwise, VOL. 1 runs more or less on autopilot, resulting in a satisfying if slightly one-dimensional listen. C-

Tracks

Justin Timberlake “Selfish”

Justin Timberlake’s fall from grace has been a sad spectacle. From increased criticism over his relationship to Janet Jackson’s commercial exile to the toxic, misogynistic behavior highlighted in Britney Spears’s auto-biography, the once-superstar has found his demons coming back to haunt him and his public image. There’s also Man of the Woods, his shockingly awful 2018 album that sent him spiraling down from the critical acclaim he once garnered with ease. His comeback single, “Selfish,” is a soft return to the kind of saccharine balladry that has scored him some of most treasured hits. But as the hard reset its intended to be, it misses the mark in more ways than one. Judging from the title alone, one might assume that “Selfish” would’ve been a confessional, an attempt at redemption from the depths of public scrutiny. It’s not - “Selfish” is spectacularly run-of-the-mill, and the singer’s jealous desire for ownership over a love interest registers as toxic rather than romantic. Musically, it’s inoffensive; the production is smooth and glossy, JT’s harmonies thick and mellifluous. But it’s hard not to color its relative emptiness with the ghosts of his past, and “Selfish” ends up being a strained plea from the void that his legacy has left him.

Megan Thee Stallion “HISS”

This is Megan Thee Stallion’s world, and don’t forget it - after turning inward on the introspective “Cobra,” Meg sets her sights back on the industry. “HISS”, the second single from her upcoming album, is three minutes of unbridled energy, packed to the gills with killer one-liners (“my pussy so famous might get managed by Kris Jenner next”). She remains one of hip hop’s sharpest spitters, and reminds her contemporaries here that, throughout her commercial success, she’s still an expert battle emcee; she fires shots at Nicki Minaj, Drake, and the now-incarcerated Tory Lanez, and she hits every target with acuity. The track can be as exhausting as it is exhilarating - it’s engineered at eleven, an assault on the eardrums that doesn’t let up for a moment, and Meg’s voice overpowers the instrumental from LilJuMadeDaBeat. But as a testimony to her undeniable presence, it works in spades. “HISS” might be Megan the Stallion’s best song since 2021’s “Thot Shit,” an eviscerating diss record, and a welcome return to the peak of her game.

Ice Spice “Think U the Shit (Fart)”

On the lead single from her upcoming project Y2K!, Bronx rapper Ice Spice stays true to her brand, delivering another Jersey club-adjacent banger that highlights her charisma and her penchant for the ridiculous. The song’s anchoring line - “think you the shit, bitch? / you ain’t even a fart” - isn’t necessarily funny or clever, but Spice sells the energy behind it. She deviates slightly from the understated cool she’s known best for, dialing up the aggression over RIOTUSA’s booming production; “I got my foot on they necks, I can’t let up / she all on the floor, tell her get up,” Spice raps, her trademark flow still infectious as it’s ever been. The song should be an exercise in diminishing returns - Spice’s artistry hasn’t evolved a great deal since she broke through with “Munch (Feelin’ You)” in 2022. But instead, “Think U the Shit” is another victory lap from an artist who just can’t seem to lose. In the two days since its release, the track has racked up almost two million plays, a feat for any song, let alone one with the word “fart” in its title. Why change the formula if it works this well?

Bonus Reviews

Here is an assortment of album assessments that didn’t quite make the cut of the Sunday Review, but are nonetheless worth a listen.

03 Greedo Project T-Pain

Since 03 Greedo’s release from prison last year - he was granted parole in 2022 after serving over four years of a twenty-year sentence - the L.A. legend has quietly released four projects, including his fifth studio album, Halfway There. But the well-deserved buzz stirred up by stellar releases such as 2018’s The Wolf of Grape Street or his pre-lockup swan song, God Level, has steadily diminished since his incarceration, one of modern hip hop’s great injustices. However, on Project T-Pain, a full-length collaboration with producer Dnyc3 that was recorded prior to the rapper’s imprisonment, he takes us back to his peak era, his double cup overflowing with raw energy and untarnished potential. The mixtape has been circulating for years among diehard fans, but its official release marks the first backdated project to emerge since his release, a pristinely preserved time capsule that allows the listener to relive his legendary pre-prison run. It’s a more explicitly R&B-oriented effort than any of his previous works, and it conjures the idea of its namesake, T-Pain, if raised on a steady diet of promethazine and marijuana smoke. But there’s no mistaking Greedo’s trademarks; his gurgling timbre, his ingenious punchlines, and understated melodicism are all present in spades. If anything, the mixtape’s mastery of style and skill calls to mind the best works of Lil Wayne, another legend whose ultimate potential lives tragically in the shadow of his incarceration. C+

Benny the Butcher Everybody Can’t Go

Since signing with New York collective Griselda in 2014, Benny the Butcher has become one of underground hip hop’s steadiest, most compelling voices, dropping album after album of masterfully gritty, street-wise rap. On his major label debut, Everybody Can’t Go, he enters the mainstream on his own terms. The production here is split between contributions from Hit-Boy and the Alchemist, avoiding the litany of production credits one might’ve expected from the Butcher’s highest profile effort to date. Hit-Boy draws from the boom-bap revival he’s showcased on recent efforts with Nas, a high definition rendering of a rougher, less polished sound. But his production often sounds at odds with Benny’s merciless, cold-blooded flow; the Alchemist’s work, by contrast, highlights his chemistry with the Butcher, and his work here compliments the rapper’s flow and aesthetic more readily (see the stunning, multi-part “TMVTL”). The album also features some quality guest appearances - Lil Wayne shines on “Big Dog,” and Armani Caesar, the only woman to appear on the project, is a perfect foil on “Buffalo Kitchen Club.” But Benny runs the show here, and he approaches every track with teeth bared, reaffirming his status as one of New York’s most consistent and gifted emcees. He’s at the top of his game on opener “Jermanie’s Graduation,” tying decades of experience in the trap to his own mother’s battle with addiction - “teary-eyed and gullible, I lived it / with a mother who struggled through addiction / I know every side of drug abuse.” He sounds bigger than life on “BRON,” and menacing on team get-together “Griselda Express,” exploring the full spectrum of his skills as a rapper. In the realm of mainstream street rap crossovers, Everybody Can’t Go is a success; even if it sacrifices some of his edge for brighter, poppier concessions, Benny the Butcher is playing the game by his own rules. C

**Fake Shore Drive, Bruiser Brigade • 2024**

Bruiser Wolf My Story Got Stories

Perhaps the most intriguing figure to emerge from Danny Brown’s Bruiser Brigade since Brown himself, Bruiser Wolf has an off-kilter flow and wild humor that give his music an affable, conversational quality, even when he’s poring through the perils of life in the trap. His vocal stylings are reminiscent of West Coast legend E-40, if significantly wilier, and his selection of beats is immaculate (see the marvelous, glitched-soul production on “Waiting in the Lobby” or the sumptuous, silken sample on lead single “Dope Boy”). My Story Got Stories is only the rapper’s second full-length effort, following 2021’s Dope Game Stupid, but at the age of 42, he effervesces with the confidence of a legend, his lyrical abilities dripping with experience (“my first toy was a scale / I had no choice!”). Most of his lines are accented with a cartoonish sense of urgency that makes every phrase sound like it was written with an exclamation point at its end (“they ain’t eatin’ / they hangry!”), and most of the guest artists here mirror his energy. Labelmates Danny Brown and Zelooperz appear on the zany “2 Bad,” and the eternally under-appreciated Trinidad James pops up on “I Was Taught To.” The record’s best track, “Crack Cocaine,” features a turn from Chicago rapper Chris Crack, a rapper as emphatic and witty as Wolf, and his greatest foil here. But there are few artists making hip hop this grimly hilarious, and My Story Got Stories is an excellent distillation of Bruiser Wolf’s unique formula. C+

Marika Hackman Big Sigh

There’s always been a storm encroaching at the edges of Marika Hackman’s music, even when her brightest arrangements have betrayed its presence, like on 2017’s excellent I’m Not Your Man. She embraces the darkness on her fourth studio effort, Big Sigh, which she’s called the “hardest album” she’s ever had to create. The record was written and recorded in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdowns, a period during which lurking existential terror was impossible to escape, and Hackman lets her demons write the songs for her here. She likens her struggle with anxiety to living with an “abusive partner” on “No Caffeine,” and finds herself stagnant in the shadow of a “difficult past relationship” on “Hanging.” But Big Sigh sounds like the fullest realization of her talent to date - its lyrics are like open wounds, its arrangements soaked in blood. The production, assisted by longtime collaborator Charlie Andrew, is textured and crisp, wrestling between stark beauty (solo piano interlude “The Lonely House”) and sky-scraping maximalism (the final minute of the title track), and Hackman plays almost every instrument here herself. It’s the most emotionally acute, sonically enveloping music of Hackman’s career, an unsparing look at the thoughts we try hardest to outrun. C

Ms. Boogie The Breakdown

Brooklyn rapper Ms. Boogie has been releasing music for over a decade, but the first album under her new moniker is a major step forward, an often harrowing confessional on life as a trans sex worker. Her writing and flow are spectacular throughout The Breakdown, and the production is a bracingly left-field take on her hometown’s Brooklyn drill. But the real appeal is the vulnerability she brings to the songs here; centerpiece “Hustler” is a stunning account of personal growth in the face of abuse and crumbling relationships. In the song’s outro, she recounts an interaction with a client who ends up calling the police on her, ending with a troubling revelation - “he’s ashamed,” she whispers as her voice carries into the ether, and it’s heartbreaking. The Breakdown is a confident, but delicate, breakthrough for the rapper that aches with experience, a deeply personal work that details a lifestyle our society often chooses to ignore. C