Patreon supporters received access to this review on October 10th, 2024.

Deviants Week is coming to a close, and I figured I’d end it with something more substantial than just a review for one song, so today we have the latest project from cardigan, which came out on September 20th this year. It’s produced by an artist named prodby668, of whom I’d never heard prior to finding out about cardigan’s music. I thought cardigan’s The Mad Scientist. album was pretty great, so I was really curious to see how they followed it up with this EP. The Mad Scientist. was fully self-produced, so this one probably has a different vibe. I’m excited to see what it sounds like.

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The first thing that I noticed about this project before even pressing play was the brevity. The opening track is called hidden power, and it’s the longest track on the EP despite being only two minutes and 19 seconds long. One thing I forgot to mention during the Deviants episode of my Listening Log series when I was talking about cardigan is that the tags they use in their music are really dope. It’s kinda like some Evil Empire, TRAP-A-HOLICS, etc. type stuff, except I guess it’s less over the top. They’re just clips of people talking about cardigans. It’s funny though. It just sounds silly, but not in a goofy or cheesy way. It’s silly in a way that just puts a smile on your face. I really like it. Anyway, this might actually be my favorite song on the project. I think cardigan’s flow and vocal delivery sound better than ever on this track. I think the production from prodby668 sounds really nice, and I really love cardigan’s voice and vocal delivery. The hook is great too. I loved how they opened the song with a reference to the Fibonacci sequence. Fun fact: my friend Stephen came up with “Fibonacci ThirdEye” as a name for a lyrical miracle struggle rapper. You may or may not end up hearing that as a stage name for a character in a future short film that I star in. We’ll see. Anyway, the lyricism on this track isn’t super thought-provoking or emotionally potent—it’s just a barrage of slick bars. They’re really tight though.

Purple white fit, shit came out the freezer
Kirby bright wrist, watch got my bitch feature
Oh word? Type shit, she my lil whatever
Left a nigga with a point, what a big endeavor

I personally think this song works better in the context of the full project than on its own, but I suppose I could say the same about every other track. This is definitely one of my favorites on the EP. It’s really dope.

Track 2 is called #812, and this one honestly grew on me a lot. Well, my thoughts on it kinda fluctuated. The first time I heard it, I thought it was great. Then when I went back to it, I thought it was okay, but not super memorable or anything. Now I’m back to liking it. I really dug the line about how they check their DistroKid account when they’re sad. That’s probably my favorite line on the song. A lot of what I said about the preceding track applies to this one as well. cardigan just sounds really comfortable over this production style. The beat itself isn’t great, but I think cardigan’s performance elevates it. I particularly dig the kind of mellow outro. It’s a good song.

five scoops (madi proton!) was probably my favorite song on the EP the first time I listened. I have to admit that I do find the clip of Sheen Estevez speaking at the beginning of the track to be quite grating, but it’s so short that I don’t even mind too much. Anyway, the beat here has a really lighthearted, fun vibe that I appreciate. It sounds like the soundtrack to my 5th birthday party. I don’t think I had a birthday party when I turned five, but you get what I mean. It just sounds like audible innocence and childlike joy. It’s just a really fun song. I really like the additional sounds that come in during the last 40 seconds of the track. cardigan’s lyricism here is dope too.

My fit three hues, red, blue, yellow snow cone
Man that shit ain't nothin' new, I got my own on
Said I smell nice? Don't got my cologne on
Hold on, she known me for so long
Tryna prolong, get caught up in a smoke bomb
Gettin' hot in here, he ain't got no coat on

This is the kinda song I would likely enjoy more in specific settings. Like, if I was stoned out of my mind in the passenger seat of a car, this would be perfect. That’s not to say that I can’t enjoy it sober though. It’s a really dope track.

Track 4 is called lime terracotta!, and it’s another one of the better songs on the project. The production here is fire. This is probably my favorite instrumental on the whole EP. It sounds like something that could’ve been on Mick Jenkins‘ Wave[s] EP, which is still my favorite project from him. I think cardigan’s performance here is really cool too. I really loved this line…

I'm gettin' money, that nigga hate, he 49

That’s fire. It’s definitely one of my favorites on the project. In fact, this might be my favorite song on it period. This one just really worked for me sonically. It’s not super different from the other tracks, but I just really love this beat in particular. A lot of the lines from cardigan stood out to me too. This couplet is really cool…

Elevate the groove, Madi move around
My negligence to snooze came from losin' bouts

The song’s definitely a highlight. This one grew on me a lot. I think it’s probably my favorite on the project, but that’s obviously subject to change. It’s fire though.

The following song is called victory road. Pokémon is kind of a blind spot for me when it comes to gaming because I wasn’t super into turn-based RPGs as a kid. I eventually got into Earthbound because I was a Ness main in Smash, but never went back to any of the Pokémon games. I had to do a Google search for Victory Road because I hadn’t heard of it. There are probably a lot of other similar Pokémon references on this project that I didn’t pick up on. Anyway, this song in particular is definitely one of my favorites on the EP from a lyrical standpoint. I was hooked as soon as I heard the opening line.

Got no respect for cops, I'll speak about, I'm bold
And all my opps look strong, must be on Victory Road
To think they breakin' mold
What's your abilities? I'm finna learn your goals

I can’t remember if they played this one at the Fight for NC show that I attended. I wasn’t familiar with cardigan prior to being there, so it was a lot to take in. I imagine this song goes crazy live though. In fact, this whole EP sounds like it would be really fun at live shows. Not only to witness as an audience member, but for cardigan to perform as well. The beat here doesn’t stand out that much to me, but it’s sufficient. I think this song is really dope overall.

The penultimate track is called aipom!!! This one definitely took multiple listens to grow on me. I liked it the first time I heard it, but it was one of the weaker songs to me. I wouldn’t exactly call it a highlight now, but I do like it quite a bit. The instrumental really grew on me. I think I mainly just had to adjust to cardigan’s flow on this one. Before taking everything in, I had to listen two times—once with a focus on the instrumental, and a second time focusing on the rap performance. I really liked their flow during this couplet…

Pull up in a all white gi, and I look like Saw, face on tea
Damn, she ain't text me back, it's cool, that status shit after me

I think I may have misquoted that first line, but I tried my best to transcribe it accurately. I really liked the line about them breaking out from facepalming so much too. I really dig the song.

The closing track is called level 99., and it’s the only track that doesn’t really have any replay value for me. The thing is, I know a lot of the people who frequently visit this blog would probably love this track. I just personally am not really into the instrumental here. I think cardigan’s performance over it is very good though. Their dynamic flow just works really well over this production. I think it’s a pretty good track, but it’s just not really for me. I’m not gonna be returning to it, but I enjoyed it for what it is on my first listen of the project. It’s solid.

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^{This EP is really good. I like it even more now than I initially did, and it’s possible that it’ll continue to grow on me in the future. I think the style is definitely gonna be an acquired taste, but audience members who gravitate towards experimentation over tradition will definitely appreciate it. cardigan just sounds very confident on the mic, and they seem like they’re having a lot of fun in the booth when they record. Funny story—I’m in a Discord server with someone from the UK who actually recognized cardigan in the picture I took with them. Shoutout to Koseph. I think she said she used to be in a server with cardigan, so that’s really cool. The world really be small, mayne. Anyway, check this EP out and let me know what you think in the comment section below. I think it’s dope.}

Favorite Song: lime terracotta!
Least Favorite Song: level 99.

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