Don’t sleep on this latest album from Spectacular Diagnostics. It was released on February 26th this year, and it’s the best instrumental project I’ve heard so far in 2024. This is only my second time hearing a release from Spectacular Diagnostics. The other project I heard was an album called Raw Lessons, which came out last year. I thought it was okay. It had some excellent features from artists such as Mike Ladd & Illogic, but the production itself didn’t stand out much to me. Because of this, I didn’t really go into this latest release with high expectations. However, I ended up being really surprised by how great this is.

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Since this isn’t really a full review I’m just gonna be writing about a handful of highlights from this album, but it should be noted that there’s not a single track that I don’t like. The first song I wanna talk about is called HOLLAIFU. This might be my favorite song on the album. It’s at least in the top 3 for me. All of the beats on this project are dark and meditative-sounding. I really appreciate how all the songs kinda carry the same atmosphere. It makes for a very cohesive record. This song in particular manages to maintain the gloom despite being one of the more melodic tracks. Honestly, this one grew on me even more with repeat listens. It’s one of my favorite songs of the year. The vocal sample and minimalistic melodic elements just come together in a really mesmerizing way. It’s hard not to get lost in this instrumental. The louder you play it, the more hypnotizing it is. I struggled to think of an MC who would sound at home over this beat as I was listening to it. Maybe Ka or AJ Suede would work. I know those are two very different artists, but they’re the only ones I could think of. Anyway, the song’s dope as fuck. The following track is another highlight called Ritual. This track is melodic just like the preceding one. The artist I thought would sound good over this one was Evidence, even though I’m not even really a fan of him. I think he would fit over this instrumental nicely. The scratches from Marcus Pinn along with the dynamic percussion helps to keep things interesting. The melody on this song is more straightforward than that of the preceding track, but it’s still really awesome. On my first listen of the album, I liked this track even more than RITUAL. OH. I just figured it out! Anwar HighSign. That’s who would sound perfect over these beats. I need an Anwar HighSign & Spectacular Diagnostics collaboration. That would be so good. Anyway, this song is dope as hell. The next one I wanna talk about is called KING WILLIE. I absolutely love how jazzy this instrumental is. The downtempo percussion gives me the coveted involuntary head nod every time I hear it too. I really love the vocal sample that was incorporated in this beat as well. I love how it kinda reverberates like an intrusive thought. This song is fantastic. The last one I wanna mention is the closing track, GARDEN. That’s the perfect title for this song because it sounds like a koi pond in the form of music. It’s a really tranquil, comforting-sounding instrumental. It kinda gives me the same feeling as 629 Prophet by Cloud Envy. I think he would sound really excellent over this one. This was my favorite track on the album on my first listen. I don’t love it any less than I initially did, but some of the other tracks grew on me and overtook it. This is another one of my favorite songs of the year though. I think it’s amazing.

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^{This is not only the best instrumental project I’ve heard in 2024, but one of the best projects I’ve heard this year period. I loved pretty much every track here. As I said in the body of this review, I really appreciate how cohesive this record is. The consistently dark atmosphere emitted by the instrumentals here is awesome. I also really appreciated the additional record scratches from Marcus Pinn. It kinda reminded me of some old school Turntablism acts like 1200 Hobos. That’s a sound that’s way too rare these days in my opinion, so this was right up my alley. My only gripe with this album is that I want more. This shit made me a fan. I definitely am looking forward to whatever Spectacular Diagnostics does next because I love this album. It’s really great. Check it out.}

Favorite Song: HOLLAIFU
Least Favorite Song: RECYCLED

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