Flying Lotus constructs another remarkable album with “You’re Dead!”

Originally Posted on Emerald Media via UWIRE

Flying Lotus, the Los Angeles-based music producer and experimental musician, recently released his fifth album, You’re Dead! in which he captures a fairly holistic image of his past with a greater jazz emphasis. This jazz element is what makes all the difference and is present within some of the more evocative tracks. This record is far from sloppy and perhaps even Flying Lotus’s most comprehensive release to date. A thorough listen reveals precision through and through, whether it be within the vocals, keys or production, You’re Dead! is undoubtedly a collective accomplishment.

You’re Dead! works with an extensive list of 19 tracks and maintains the listener’s attention throughout the entire project. To that end, I find this to be a result of the concise duration of songs, such as “Stirring,” which is a mere 31-second track. The brevity of the tunes certainly leaves the listener wanting more, and simultaneously works as a transitional segment, thereby allowing a majority of the focus to lie on the album’s more significant features.

My only bone to pick is with the jazziest tunes, such as “Turkey Dog Coma.” The saxophone masterfully takes the forefront, and yet I feel slightly cheated insofar as the ensemble of instruments was not given a fair amount of time to develop fully. Nonetheless, this may have been the aim all along. Perhaps this was just another gimmick to keep the listener anxious and wanting more.

Aside from the jazzy tunes, it seems likely that “Never Catch Me feat. Kendrick Lamar” will be the most recognized track by the general public and for good reason at that. The catchy, repeated lyrics “You’ll never ever catch me” complement a powerful background production as well as a strong keyboard addition. The ease with which these components blend together is remarkable, as is the case with several other tracks.

Two personal favorites on this album are “Coronus, the Terminator” and “Descent into Madness feat. Thundercat.” The soft, hypnotic effect from the male and female vocal counterparts draw in the listener with the former track. Not only that, but upon multiple listens, it becomes clear that it is quite a simple song to sway and clap along with.

The same cannot be said of “Descent into Madness feat. Thundercat.” This is by far the most haunting track on the album. The vocalist menacingly recites the lines “Can you feel the walls are closing in / Welcome to the descent / The descent / The descent into madness.” The eerie feeling remains consistent throughout the track. Luckily, as listeners, we are not left hanging in this strange place of madness.

Admittedly, I typically find albums containing an extensive number of tracks to drop the ball at some point, so to speak. With You’re Dead!, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Flying Lotus makes good on this project by carrying the listener throughout the album with mindfully placed transitions between the more complex songs. This doesn’t overwhelm the listener and allows them to pay special attention to the more electronically produced tunes.

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