This album was released on February fourth this year. Dark Time Sunshine is a duo comprised of rapper Onry Ozzborn and producer Zavala. I’ve listened to all of their albums, and my favorite one up to this point has been ANX, although Vessel is a close second. I haven’t heard all of his work just because he’s super prolific, but I’ve become a pretty big fan of Onry Ozzborn over the years. Ever since I heard c v p ii d his stellar taste in production and monotone delivery has had me hooked. Anyway, this is the first DTS album in almost a decade, so I’m pretty excited for it. I think it’s gonna end up being one of my favorite albums of the year to be honest.

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The album begins with the title track, which is also the shortest song on the album. The production from Zavala is pretty chaotic and fast paced sounding. Onry spits one verse at the beginning of the track, and it’s really dope. Ceschi comes in right behind him for the melodic outro, and he really reminds me of Doseone here. I also thought of Tech N9ne‘s Stamina track. Overall, this song is far from the most memorable track, but I think it serves as a pretty dope intro. The following track is entitled Ritalin.

I really love the melodic production here, and the writing on Onry’s verses is fantastic.

FML, FML
Rid myself of these blues like I am Gargamel
Been told it ain't hard to tell
An example of that is 6ix9ine out the cell
But I'm Edward Baines out the cell
My therapist J. Lo and she out the cell
Guess this means I'm a sailboat
All alone on this body of water tryna stay afloat
SMH, SMH
How many times do I have to set myself straight?
Groundhog on a greyhound replay
Highlights of a lowlife's decay

I think the verse is dope as hell. The hook is pretty simplistic, but I think it works really well. I like the way Onry goes through different shorthand abbreviations like “FML” & “LMFAO.” His writing had me hooked throughout this track. I think the song is dope as hell overall. I have no complaints with it. The following track is called 7 Knots, and I think it’s even better.

The production here is glorious. Beats like this made me realize that Zavala is one of the most underrated producers I’ve ever listened to. I love his production, but for whatever reason I never bring him up when people ask me about dope producers. That’s probably gonna change after this album. The beat is dope af. Once again, the writing from Onry had me hooked.

Cop an emoji if you don’t join in the glory
I’ve decided the limbo beneath my own personal purgatory
Although my vantage point at the moment was rock bottom
It taught me how to morph colors and become Autumn
It taught me values of globetrotting with your person
Means more at the end of the day than the actual excursion

I like the slow-paced, kind of simplistic hook on this track. Once again, I have no gripes. I think the song is dope as hell. It’s followed by one of the most exciting songs in the tracklist, The Rite Kids.

This one features R.A.P. Ferreira & Homeboy Sandman. I really like the icy, kind of heavenly sounding production. The first couple of verses from Onry are great, and Homeboy Sandman was cool at the very end, but the real star of the show here for me is R.A.P. Ferreira. He killed this shit in my opinion.

I write this for the chosen few
Who were told as children to speak when spoken to
And then were never spoken to
Who learned to dialogue with reverie
And while I enjoy soup, I do not fancy celery
Albeit an integral ingredient
They use to praise me for obedience

He was the highlight of this track for me. I was expecting Homeboy Sandman to have my favorite verse, but his kind of minimalistic flow just wasn’t as exciting. The song is fire overall though. I think it’s dope as hell. It’s followed by Star Scream. I don’t love this one as much as a lot of the others, but I still think it’s really dope. The melodic, blissful production is great, and the rapping from Onry is on point as always. I’m just not crazy about the hook on this song personally. The song also just feels a bit long to me. It probably didn’t need to reach five minutes in length. The rapping and production are so good that I still really enjoy the song overall though. It’s dope. Track 6 is entitled Poor Pavel, and it’s another one of the more exciting tracks just because it features Hail Mary Mallon. I really like the smooth, melodic, kind of wavy production. The first verse from Onry is great. I like Onry’s kind of fast-paced flow, and of course his lyricism had me hooked as always. I love how he rhymed the words “god” and “guide.” The hook on this track is pretty dope. The second verse from Rob Sonic is really dope, and Aesop Rock killed the closing verse. R.A.P. Ferreira is still my favorite feature on the album, but Aesop Rock is probably my second favorite. The song is dope as hell overall. Track 7 is entitled Hell Nah, and it has another blissful, melodic beat that I think is wonderful.

The somewhat melodic hook sounds really nice too. The first verse is really dope.

After meandering in and out of those bubbles
Them rubber glovies were tossed away with the muzzles
I snipped your feeding tube in half, then sat their puzzled
You made it through
Slept on a mountain for months in search of yourself
Equestrian in the desert for mental health
Dormitory environment, your hand was dealt
You made it through

Even though I love the production and think the writing is great, the repetitive melody of the verses kind of prevents me from really falling in love with the song. However, even though it’s not one of my favorites, I still think it’s really dope. The following track is called Look at Her Go, and it’s another one of the relatively weaker tracks in my opinion. I still think it’s very good though. I love the melodic production here. Zavala killed this shit. I love Onry’s writing on the verses too. I honestly just find the “look at her go” refrain to be slightly annoying. The sung hook is pretty good though, even if the soft vocals aren’t the most impressive. The song is dope to me overall. Track 9 is called Familiars, and I believe it was the first single from the album.

It’s one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. I think the dark, kind of despondent, yet melodic production is fantastic. I kinda feel like Onry took the backseat on this track just because it seems like there’s more of a focus on the production. Onry spits two verses on this track, but they’re both pretty short. The song is just over five minutes in length, and most of it is taken up by either the hook or an instrumental passage. The sung hook is simplistic, yet super catchy. It gets stuck in my head more than any of the other hooks on the album. Overall, I think the song is dope as hell. The penultimate track is entitled Ayemen. c v p ii d is one of my favorite Onry Ozzborn projects, so the reference to it on the hook of this track really resonated with me.

Broken before, but never again
These fishing hooks are still facing each other
Addicted to one another, amen

This track actually sounds like something that could’ve been on that project. I really dig the electronic-sounding production, and this track has some of the best rapping on the album in my opinion. It’s dope as hell. The final song is entitled Better Off. Once again, I really love the blissful, melodic production, and Onry’s rapping here is top notch.

The simulation we now forced to endure
Is taking shape, but it's up to us if it has sharp edges around its décor
Apple emoji to your digi-teachers
Slidin' through DM's, see who be making out beneath the bleachers
Picking your next relationship through your ex's friend list
Is just like instigating a razor to cut a wrist

The hook is pretty simplistic, but it serves it’s purpose well enough. The instrumental outro is pretty beautiful. It sounds like Zavala incorporated a harp, and it’s really pretty-sounding. I think the song is really dope.

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^{This album is really dope. I think any fans of Dark Time Sunshine will be satisfied with this project just like I am because it’s on par with their best work in my opinion. Zavala’s production is still super polished and euphoric, and I still love Onry’s monotone delivery and well written lyrics. It should be noted that this is definitely for fans of an abstract, underground sound. There’s nothing really trendy about this album, although I do think the production is pretty accessible. This is one of the better albums I have heard in 2020. I don’t have any gripes with it. Check it out.}

Favorite SOng: 7 Knots
Least Favorite Song: Look at Her Go

85

Watch the video below for more thoughts on this album.