Family Average: 5/7

Step right up! This week the family took a look at Travis Scott’s amusement park inspired musical extravaganza! Astroworld is the third album released by the Rapper Travis Scott, and brings with it a bit of a unique concept. Does the idea sit well with the family?

Listen along on Spotify and read on to find out:

Well we have gone and done it now. The kids went and chugged a can of coke and got to buy one get one free ticket to Astroworld. Or is that a Six Flags thing? Ah whatever I gotta type this review before the delicious Coke A Cola completely corrodes my stomach causing my demise. There sure are a lot of attractions here in this park. Lot of flash and flair, the auto-tune kinda became like it’s own instrument bobbing and weaving melodies throughout the songs. Man oh man this theme park is really sad, it's like negative disneyland the un-happiest place on earth. Which is great for me because I love melodramatic lyrics. If you do too congrats this song will have you slow dancing with yourself into a sobbing fetal position. Gotta say I really appreciated the experimentation going on in this album. The little guitar loops, and abstract sounds were neat. RIP Screw had a sound like straight out of the 80s transformers cartoon show. That said gotta say my favorite track was  

“Sicko Mode” gosh darn loved the samples that popped in this, (gimme the loot)  and how it completely switched vibes halfway through injecting some nightmare on elm street kind of creepy synth. Close second was that one about not being god, because it makes riding the train incredibly pleasant (also lovely use of the harmonica sounding synth thing ;-0). When the songs hit hard they really hit hard, at the same time I found myself kind of losing interest during lulls in the action. Covered in tears and vomit I now decide to leave Astroworld, undoubtedly I will be back tomorrow for more.

5/7  

Full disclaimer that I haven’t actually listened to Travis Scott before -- not really my cuppa -- so I went in to this album pretty naive. My immediate reaction was that I loved the beats, hated the autotune. But as I fell deeper into Scott’s world, I began to appreciate its subtleties and complexities. And buckle up kids, ‘cuz it’s a long one. The album’s got this sort of psychedelic spin to it, with a really impressive curation of guest vocalists and producers. I loved the mix of floating guitars and messy synths, plus those harsh beat changes on songs like, “Stargazer.” That screeching halt is just so good. Also, let's talk about "Stop Trying to Be God," for a second. James Blake, Kid Cudi, and Stevie Wonder? Okay, yeah. I'm interested. The combination of these guys is just wild and hooks you hard, if only to see what the heck they’re gonna do. Overall, everything about this album feels pretty immaculate in terms of style, nuance, and production. Scott had a vision and he executed it well. He's definitely carving and demanding his own place as a sort of visionary, bringing together disparate artists under the auspices of his psychedelic Astroworld vision. Not always my kind of music, but he earns every accolade that comes his way for this curated project.

5/7

The rap game loves the all caps as of late. I really didn’t give this album the attention it deserves  on the first listen because I was a bit distracted by all the things going on in my life and I thought that it didn’t impress me as much as the other releases around this time, like Testing by A$AP Rocky. But, I’m glad I finally gave this album my full attention. I really never use this phrase and I have no business saying it but it sums up my situation perfectly, I slept on this. Its an album to be reckoned with. Still dripping with that Days Before The Rodeo style and essence but polished by fame and recognition and bomb features. Clean, vibey, dancy, you got Frank Ocean on there, some Drake, classic Travis Scott noises, what else is there to say? Well this, the track “Stop Trying To Be God” really shows his talent as a producer. That sound of his that Kanye borrowed on Yeezus-- an album produced by Travis Scott-- is still there, you can hear it throughout. “5% Tint” also has a bit of a Kanye vibe in terms of the arrangement. The album doesn’t just bump it's also vibey, a multipurpose jam.

5/7

YEAH YEAH.
Mr. travis has come a long way and I while some people had some choice words for his previous album beibs in the trap I was fond of it but that being said, I like this one more. I have to say I did not listen to this album in order I was exposed to some standouts before diving all the way IN. I hear the word curator thrown out and about and I guess I don't really know how to judge someone as a curator of music. When I think of that I just think of Dj Khaled lmao. I felt that there were a FEW songs that really kinda sucked, like that one about THE CLUB, and the one of him being on the plane and he's complaining about a problem that doesn't exist. That brought me to the question: Is he somewhat of a weak lyricist? I felt that this can be thought over especially during the last track which quite a disappointment. I really like Travis’s style and there are so many things that went right. But sometimes I fear that he almost abuses his niche style on some of these tracks which almost makes it played out… but not too played out just yet thankfully

5/7