clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned: Review
Through the past decade clipping. frontman Daveed Diggs had one helluva year. From his turn on Broadway in Hamilton to his critically acclaimed film Blindspotting, which he co-wrote; it was definitely a whirlwind. And despite the crazy schedule his first wite Hip-Hop never took a back seat. The output by the trio is usually stellar with their experimental production and lyricism that leaves impact which is the case on Visions Of Bodies Being Buried, their newest release, as it offers up an improvement on the ideas worked with on their previous album.
There Existed an Addiction to Blood, their previous album, brought in many fresh ideas revolving around horror. Daveed Diggs paints scenic pictures of horror film-like sequences to deliver themes of race and success amongst many. It’s added representation of the music that was primarily highlighted in the early era of Murder Dog Magazine. Visions Of Bodies Being Burned brings more to the forefront than the bare bones of their previous album by having more focus, especially in the production. William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes still maintain that experimental edge but its fluidity with Diggs flows elevates it more.
It helps build dimensions on the themes implemented by the group. Themes such as, racial violence, female empowerment, and systematic racism to name a few.
clipping. experimental edge has always been influenced and at times derivative of the sounds of Yeezus. But it feels like something they molded as their own, with the track following the intro. “Say The Name,” has these eerie and staticky synths over hard drum kicks that brings the horror atmosphere and still keeps you in with the catchy chorus lines. That is very stagnant as sometimes, the catchiness is backed by the instrumental like on “96 Neve Campbell,” and “Pain Everyday.”
The embodiment of horror like metaphors and entendres to deliver fierce points and lyricism. “Pain Everyday,” uses real EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) as a sampling tool to make the song feel like it’s being fueled by restless spirits. The haunting industrial sounds grind the grits as overtures to the track. There are a lot of planted roots in the album, some of which hit those fun nerves for cinephiles with allusions taken from singular horror films as inspiration. “She Bad,” is an alteration on the story of The Blair Witch where the themes are about female empowerment in an unconventional way.
As glowing as this album comes into the forefront, there are moments the bulbs dull out, like on “Something Underneath,” where the stagnant trap flows sound disheveled in the instrumental. The interludes come and go as if the album is trying to form a whole cinematic world, but really .clipping is having fun with their concepts with real focus on the themes.
Visions of Bodies Being Burned is a definitive uptick for the trio and the sounds they sample and create to elevate the project to new levels. It’s great for artists to improve upon interesting concepts especially when it’s prevalent to the times.