This extended play was released on August 7th this year. I recently covered Brelstaff’s debut self-titled album, and I was a very big fan of that record. I’m pretty sure this EP was already out by the time I posted that review, so I figured I’d go ahead and give it a listen, especially since it’s so short. There are only five tracks here, the longest of which is 136 seconds long, so this should be pretty quick. I’m not expecting it to be as great as the album, but I’ll be surprised if I end up disliking it.
I’ll talk about all the tracks I liked before getting into my critiques later on. The project starts off with Eulogy, which is definitely one of the best songs. It might be my favorite. I haven’t decided yet as of 9:08 PM EST on Sunday, October 18th. I don’t know why I felt the need to say that. Anyway, this song opens with what sounds like a clip from an interview that some white dude did with Wynton Marsalis. The beat is pretty jazzy and has a very nice vocal sample. This jazzy aesthetic is maintained throughout the entire project. I feel like this track feels way more detailed and fleshed out than most of the others. The trumpet sample sounds gorgeous. I think that’s a Wynton Marsalis sample. Maybe it was Brelstaff playing himself. I don’t know. That shit sounded really goddamn good though. It’s a very pretty beat. It’s a dope track. The next song I like is called Ah! It’s a bit longer than the opening song, but I don’t think it’s as layered or detailed. It’s a more straightforward instrumental. It also sounds pretty lighthearted. For whatever reason I keep picturing a middle aged white guy wearing swim trunks while grilling. I don’t know why that image pops into my mind when I play this beat, but that’s just what it is. Even though it’s a relatively lighthearted and upbeat instrumental, it’s still pretty damn jazzy. I like it. It’s definitely not a favorite of mine, but I do think it’s pretty good. The last highlight for me is the closing track, Jarvi. I really like the hard hitting percussion here, as well as the staticky sound in the background that’s supposed to sound like the crackle of a vinyl record. This beat is nowhere near as buoyant as Ah! in my opinion. This one reminds me of the opening level of the first Jak & Daxter game for whatever reason. I have no idea why. I like it a lot though. It’s a very relaxing instrumental, but the percussion is hard-hitting and fast paced enough to prevent it from feeling too smooth. I think it’s very dope. I unfortunately didn’t really care for the other two tracks on this project, but I definitely wouldn’t say they’re wack. I think the main reason I didn’t like them as much is just because they’re so short that they didn’t really have time to develop into interesting songs. They sound more like rough ideas than full instrumentals. Track 2 is called We Just Spirits, and I think it’s definitely a solid beat. There’s just not enough going on to make it worth returning to for me. If there was a really dope rapper spitting over it I think I’d like it, but there’s not enough here for me to come back to it just as an instrumental. It sounds like it should be the intro music to somebody’s podcast or something. In fact, I would definitely use this for my own podcast if I had one. It’s just not something I’d listen to on its own, but I think it’s an okay track. The penultimate song is called Iso, and it’s even more underdeveloped than We Just Spirits. The weird thing is that I think this beat had the potential to be even better than that song. This one’s only 40 seconds long though, so it just doesn’t have time to go anywhere. Again, it sounds like the background music for a podcast or something. Actually, this sounds like BGM that would play in a pornographic film that takes place in a massage parlor, right before the actors started getting busy. It’s not a bad beat, but I would never listen to this again. It’s just mediocre to me.
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid EP. It’s definitely nowhere near as great as Brelstaff’s album, and I certainly wouldn’t highlight it as a starting point for new listeners, but I think if you’re a fan it’s something you’re gonna wanna check out. Again, it’s not on the same level as the album, but there’s absolutely some enjoyable material here. It’s just that these kinda feel like scraps that didn’t make it onto the full project. Nothing here is really bad though, and I’m glad I finally checked it out. It’s not a must-listen, but I don’t think anyone would regret giving it a shot, especially since it’s so short. It’s okay.
FAVORITE SONG: JARVI
LEAST FAVORITE SONG: ISO
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