Flying Lotus
You’re Dead!
Warp
Oct 14, 2014 Web Exclusive
Steve Ellison, better known as Flying Lotus, makes music that sounds like a melodic car crash. Each song finds jazz, hip-hop, R&B, forward-thinking electronica, and pop smashing together, but what should sound like chaos ends up (most of the time) as a cohesive whole.
Ellison’s latest as Flying Lotus, You’re Dead!, hones these ideas and brings them to heights he hasn’t reached before. More playful than past releases, You’re Dead! is Ellison’s most overt homage to jazz giants of the past—never before has Ellison’s family tree (his aunt is Alice Coltrane—yes, that Coltrane) been so deeply felt. Nowhere is this more apparent than on “Tesla,” featuring the legendary Herbie Hancock. That improvisational interplay carries through the album, whether it’s between a piano line and a skittering snare on the Kendrick Lamar-featuring “Never Catch Me” or between the shadowy sax and cascading synth on “Moment of Hesitation.” Even on songs with a less obvious jazz lineage (the druggy “Obligatory Cadence,” the blissed-out “Ready Err Not” and “Eyes Above”), there’s still that sense of experiment and adventure, which makes sense for a semi-concept album about death and the afterlife.
Ellison’s guests on You’re Dead! add to the mystique. Snoop Dogg does his thing on “Dead Man’s Tetris”—which, considering it sounds about one bong rip from collapsing (in a good way), is a perfect fit for the Doggfather. Ellison’s alter ego Captain Murphy shows up on a couple of tracks, and label mate Thundercat pounds the bass on “Descent into Madness.”
These disparate elements, influences, and guests could have made a mess of an ambitious album, but instead You’re Dead! turns out to be Flying Lotus’ best yet. Jazz or not, it’s an experiment that takes its place among the progressive movements of music. (flying-lotus.com)
Author rating: 8/10
Average reader rating: 7/10
Current Issue
Issue #72
Apr 19, 2024 Issue #72 - The ‘90s Issue with The Cardigans and Thurston Moore
Most Recent
- Under the Radar Announces The ’90s Issue with The Cardigans and Thurston Moore on the Covers (News) — The Cardigans, Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth, Garbage, The Cranberries, Pavement, Lisa Loeb, Supergrass, Spiritualized, Lush, Miki Berenyi, Miki Berenyi Trio, Emma Anderson, Hatchie, Ride, Slowdive, Velocity Girl, Penelope Spheeris, Terry Gilliam, Gus Van Sant, Ron Underwood, Kula Shaker, Salad, Foals, Semisonic, The Boo Radleys, Stereo MC’s, Pale Saints, Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney, Cocteau Twins, Lucy Dacus, Alex Lahey, Horsegirl, Grandaddy, alt-J, Squid, The Natvral, Wolf Alice, Jess Williamson, Sunflower Bean, Orville Peck, Joel McHale
- 10 Best Songs of the Week: Fontaines D.C., Cassandra Jenkins, Loma, John Grant, and More (News) — Songs of the Week, Fontaines D.C., Cassandra Jenkins, Loma, John Grant, Good Looks, Hana Vu, Belle and Sebastian, Yannis & The Yaw, Strand of Oaks, Home Counties
- Fresh Shares New EP ‘Merch Girl’ (News) — Fresh
- Premiere: LOVECOLOR Shares New Video for “Crazy Love” (News) — LOVECOLOR
- Final Summer (Review) — Cloud Nothings
Comments
Submit your comment
There are no comments for this entry yet.