HOW’S THIS FOR A HOOK? Kanye’s abrasive new songs fit his otherwise sweet persona. (
)
Most music stars kick off new-album campaigns with appearances at the Super Bowl or Grammys. But for his first solo album in three years, Kanye West chose a simple tweet: “June 18.”
That date was quickly tied to Tuesday’s release of “Yeezus,” but the medium wasn’t just a gimmick. West was making a broader statement about stepping back from music-biz machinery. Last week at the Governors Ball on Randall’s Island, he made his intentions clear: “With this album, we ain’t drop no single to radio. We ain’t got no big NBA campaign or nothin’ like that. S – – t, we ain’t even got no cover. We just made some real music.”
Here’s our track-by-track guide to the biggest, and most contentious, album of 2013.
“On Sight” There’s no gentle intro or anticipatory fanfare to “Yeezus.” Pressing play is like detonating a sonic bomb, and the blast wave begins with this slice of searing, future-shock techno, conjured with the help of Daft Punk. A sensational start.
“Black Skinhead” One of the two tracks performed on “Saturday Night Live” (along with “New Slaves”) but still one that makes you recoil from its tribal, rhythmic power, which sounds very much like it was built around a sample of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People.” There are few better ways to show you don’t care what people think than by sampling a nu-metal track.
“I Am A God” Another sledgehammer of electro, with Kanye channelling (and simultaneously lampooning) his messiah complex with lines like “I am a god/So hurry up with my damn massage.” Things get even freakier during a noise breakdown at the song’s climax that is punctuated by the rapper screaming demonically, not unlike Yoko Ono. Insanely compelling.
“New Slaves” The sci-fi ambience of this cut still hasn’t lost its power. Kanye’s take-no-prisoners attitude is summed up by the lines “There’s leaders, and then there’s followers/But I’d rather be a d – – k than a swallower.” A couplet for the ages.
“HOLD My Liquor” The beats per minute go down a touch on this track, but the layers of sound get even denser as Kanye enlists Chief Keef to sing a dreamy, drunken melody over one of the album’s prettier-sounding productions.
“I’m In It” (title unconfirmed)
It wouldn’t be a Kanye album without some good old-fashioned dirty talk, and this dancehall-influenced track is where things get indecent. Boasting a bass groove that could kick-start a flatlining patient in an emergency room, his dark, twisted fantasies are delivered with the aid of a sinister vocal treatment that makes it sound all the more messed-up.
“Blood On The Leaves” (title unconfirmed) This is where “Yeezus” harks back to the big-production values of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” His Auto-Tuned vocals entwine with piano motifs and a big hip-hop beat (one of the few on the record). Slowly, they build towards an ecstatic climax that will have the club crowds moving all summer long.
“Guilt Trip” (title unconfirmed) More spacey atmospherics are employed here on what sounds like a mutated John Carpenter soundtrack that finds Kanye singing/yodelling in the style of the “808s & Heartbreak” album.
“Send It Up” (title unconfirmed) A final and forbidding return to the hard stuff, “Send It Up” brings together wailing sirens and gut-vibrating beats as Chicago’s King Louie throws in an equally abrasive guest rap.
“Bound 2” The obscure ’70s Cleveland vocal group Ponderosa Twins Plus One are about to receive a surge of interest because the final track on “Yeezus” is a sweet and soulful moment, anchored in a sample of their song “Bound.” The album closer, which will undoubtedly please fans who yearn for Kanye’s earlier days, also features Bon Iver and Chief Keef. A surprisingly romantic end to Yeezy’s most brutal album to date.
Verdict: ★★★ ½
You have to hand it to Kanye — his self-belief has once again been almost completely backed up by his music. He’s long thought of himself as a creative pioneer and this is the largely unarguable proof. Brash and bombastic, “Yeezus” is essentially the sound of Kanye giving everybody the middle finger and more than anything else, it’s that confrontational attitude that makes it one of the best albums of 2013.