Album: Live Forever
Artist: Bartees Strange
Release Date: October 2, 2020
Genre: Rock/Rap/Folk
Length: 0:35:24
Label: Memory Music
Producer: Will Yip
But please let me ask you Mr. Strange, what genre ARE you?...
A multi-talented genre explorer, Bartees Strange with his debut record Live Forever.
Based out of Washington D.C, Bartees Strange opens his debut record with a cityscape sound: cars zooming in the background, birds chirping, and the hustle and bustle of the large city, all behind the dreamy chords from the piano. It all melds together and throws the listener right into the middle of Bartees Strange sounding like he's performing at a park. His mystical voice in "Jealousy" speaks to the masses while being shielded from the madness of inner-city life, and secretly lets the audience know Strange's background without ever personally meeting him.
After the first track, "Mustang" brings forth an energy that features synth melodic jabs, frantic drumming, and a crunch like vocal style completely different from "Jealousy". An intense rock sound, Strange sings with a different type of emotion than other songs on the album yet never makes these differences sound forced. The ability to take a defined artist genre label, and say "F*** That" is exactly what Bartees Strange exposes throughout Live Forever.
Quick lyrics, distraught melodies, intense rhythms but an overall catchiness describes the third track "Boomer". The excitement in which Strange performs shines through throughout the entire track. The lyrics feature a religious theme but stray far from being a religious song, Strange has the ability to create a song that alludes to things personal to him but keeps a mysterious vibe to most listeners.
Following a glitched out guitar part, Strange comes in on "Kelly Rowland" with a more rap feel, which contrasts to the prior tracks on the album. Continuing to cement himself as an experimental artist able to take on, and thrive, in different genres, Strange sets the groundwork for potential global artist growth. The talent that an artist, like Strange, must have to bend through multiple genres is impressive and will hopefully start to become a norm with future musicians.
"Flagey God" brings a dance beat to Bartees Strange's R&B voice. The consistent undertone of the bass with the sizzles throughout, along with Strange utilizing a more reverberated sound, showcase mysterious sounds throughout. Various sounds emerge over the course of the track, such as the consistent yet random bells, a drone of a synth underneath and distorted vocal pops, all make this song worthy of an underground club.
Continuing to reveal his multi-genre talents, "Far" allows Strange to sing with a folk-like voice. Personable lyrics, light acoustic guitar strumming and a reserved but dreamy voice, makes this song sound very raw, but eventually builds into an intense rock feel. The power-chords of the guitar, the arena booming drum hits all paired along with his seductive voice all explode into a rock jam.
Strange perfectly portrays an ambience unlike anything else with "Fallen for You". The sound of a bar performance with the way the reverb holds his voice, slight sounds in the background of workers walking around, this song almost sounds like a recorded soundcheck at a small venue. The beauty in the guitar while occasionally revisiting the melodic riff seems very personal to Strange. The mix of his voice with just his guitar is a perfectly contrasted feel from every other song on the album, yet it still works wonderfully. The exquisiteness Strange carries throughout Live Forever is admirable and is shockingly different than most music coming out now. The ability to blend multiple genres so seamlessly across the entire album is a reason to listen to this album in and of itself, but pair that with the pure musical talent he has, and this album could go down as one of my favorites from 2020 at the end of the year...
Favorite Songs: "Mustang", "Boomer", "Flagey God"
Least Favorite Songs: "Mossblerd"
Production Quality:
Mix = 8.5/10
Innovation = 10/10
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 10/10
Lyricism = 8/10
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 10/10
Instrumental Timbre = 9/10 (Some effects can be a tad too much but nothing overwhelming and it doesn't carry out forever)
Group Chemistry = 10/10
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 9/10
Overall Rating: 9.2/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!