On her long-awaited and ambitious debut album, the Korean-American artist hits her stride when looking inward
Initially breaking out on the cusp of bold, euphoric dance music – fogged-glass deep house banger ‘Rengural’ and a nu-disco infused take on Drake’s ‘Passionfruit’ – Yeezy delivers another talking 2020 mixtape ‘What’ The introspective-turned We Drew While it still draws heavily from the steady stomps of a dry ice-laden dancefloor, it combined its cold drum and bass beats and garage Korg organ pulses with something more flowing and exploratory.
After bottling up pure joy with his previous releases – 2017’s ‘Yeezy’ and ‘EP2’ – the Korean-American artist’s XL debut felt like peeling back layers, exposing dark bubbling beneath the surface. Like dance-pop titan Robyn (which Yeezy remixed back in 2019), she seemed to understand that sheer escapism often goes hand-in-hand with running away from something shady and corrosive.
Whereas this restlessness had previously manifested in the form of boisterous slow-tempo beats – the languidly languid ‘These Days’ with subtle touches of experimental jazz, or the ‘saccharine chill of Waking Up Down’ – debut album ‘With a Hammer’ ‘Submerge’ ‘ opens with FM’s orchestral flute flutter, before quickly revealing a slowly simmering rage. “I was so pissed off, I thought I couldn’t keep it together,” she sings on the title-track. Towards the second half of the record, Yaeji also opened his arms to collaborators, with NYC producers K Wata and Anyaute, helmed by Dry Cleaning Rework Time, and UK dance producer Lorraine James on glacial closer ‘Be Alone in This’. ‘ before acting at various points. ‘ alienates him once again.
‘With a Hammer’ often oscillates between vague flickers of hope and resigned nihilism. “There are times when you’re happy, there are times when you’re mad, that’s how it is,” Yeezy shrugs on ‘I’ll Remember for Me, I’ll Remember for You’ – the record’s sparse, Brass-laden centerpiece. “It’s easy to hurt, but I’ll write it down for me,” she sings, flipping effortlessly from Korean to English midway through the line. On ‘For Granted’ you can practically hear the brain-cogs gathering steam and spinning anxiously – “Am I thanking you / Am I enjoying it too / Am I / Believing it Huh,” Yeji wonders, hiccuping as the vocal loops continually build on each other. When it finally crashes, in wave upon wave of rolling drums and bass, it feels like a relief from the pressure.
Initially braving the pinnacle of bold, euphoric dance music — fogged-glass deep house banger ‘Rengural’ and a nu-disco infused take on Drake’s ‘Passionfruit’ — Yeezy delivers another talking 2020 mixtape ‘What’ Introspective-turned We Drew while it still drew heavily from the steady stomps of a dry ice-filled dancefloor, combined its cold drum and bass beats and garage Korg organ pulses with something more flowing and exploratory.
After bottling up pure joy with his previous releases – 2017’s ‘Yeezy’ and ‘EP2’ – the Korean-American artist’s XL debut felt like peeling back layers, exposing dark bubbles beneath the surface. Like dance-pop titan Robyn (whom Yeezy remixed back in 2019), she seemed to understand that sheer escapism often goes along with running away from something shady and corrosive.
Whereas this restlessness had previously manifested in the form of fast slow beats – the languid ‘These Days’ with subtle touches of experimental jazz, or the ‘saccharine chill of Waking Up Down’ – debut album ‘With a Hammer’ ‘submerges’. ’ opens with FM’s orchestral flute flutter, before slowly revealing angst. “I was so pissed off, I thought I couldn’t keep it together,” she sings on the title track. Towards the second half of the record, Yaeji lends his arms to collaborators on the glacial close ‘Be Alone in This’ with NYC producers K Wata and Anyaute, powered by Dry Cleaning Reworks Time, and UK dance producer Lorraine James. Opened. ‘ before working on various points. ‘ alienates him once again.
From the Pixies-esque grunge guitar and deadpan rap verses of ‘Fever’ to the haunting, Peter and the Wolf-style woodwinds that reappear throughout, ‘With a Hammer’ shares the eclectic sensibilities of its predecessor, But lets put it a bit more subtly. Unite. Kitty wielding her giant mallet like a comic-book hero and using it to tame her anger as a glassy wash of synthesizer occasionally bumbles and stutters, this one way ahead of the immediate sugar-rush of Yegi’s early hits. Not possible. Thorny and intriguing, this is dance music for drifting home from the club on the deserted sidewalk; A moment of reflection after the enthusiasm has faded.
Details
- Release date: April 7
- Record label: XL Recordings