Mini Reviews: Floor Seats 2 & After School EP
Since the release of Trap Lord A$AP Ferg has been on a rollercoaster ride through his career that have been mostly the drops. His prowess to orchestrate the perfect piece doesn’t always translate as his music mirrors fashion trends. Like the mixtape Floor Seats, the follow up continues that but remains forgettable.
The plethora of features on the album are akin to the current rappers and artists growing in the industry. Mulatto and Fivio Foreign, along with Jay Gwaopo and MadeinTYO fill some of the roster, with some veterans occupying the rest. And at the usual distaste usually received from the latter’s music, the track that features him along with Nicki Minaj stands as one of the bare few standouts.
These tracks don’t muster up to be anything more than the hollow shell of the content. “Dennis Rodman,” does so with simple trap flows and redundancy everywhere else. This is particular to most of the begotten tracks in this snooze fest. The instrumental is an over the top trap-like that bounces with the hokey flow and generic lyricism. Most of the instrumentals teter over good quality, but Ferg has a lot of misdirection he needs to work on for future works.
Fortunately within the confines of this album there are some tracks that manage to make an impression. “Marilyn Manson,” featuring the namesake artist, brings a phenomenal opener for the album. But like Kingda Ka at Six Flags, that quick whirlwind is fun till it ends and then it just stinks. Other highlights, however, include “Hectic,” featuring Puff Daddy and “Mask” featuring ANTHA. Both deliver their own unique cadence to the track from ASAP Ferg.
Floor Seats II, is a weaker successor to the marginally better Floor Seats. But for what it's worth some tracks have “value” compared to the others.
4/10
Melanie Martinez is always the hidden delight of the music world when she drops a new project. Her arsenal of relatable metaphors elevates the songwriting ten fold. Her new EP After School continues her travels to the school days, allowing it to transcribe the dimensions of her person.
Her unique take on pop is fully lower tempo electro bubblegum - alternative pop. Instrumentally better than the at times repetitive K-12, only when “Numbers,” hits the mid mark it brings in some sour notes. But the lush differences in each track allows it to shine, like on “Glued,” with the acute percussion and naturalistic harmonies. The track’s use of the teenage emotional quandaries and confusion of the meaning of love is one of those rarities where the “usual” becomes unique and new.
All of these aspects of the music come together fantastically on the track “Brain & Heart.” The interpolation of “If You Had My Love,” by Jennifer Lopez and uses the melody to great effect on the simplest of tracks from After School. The continuation in this stylistic style, a deviation from Cry Baby, continues to distinguish her strengths.
After School is a refreshing continuation for Melanie Martinez and her fantastic change starting on K-12. A very fun and rare delight for 2020, which is has been universally shit for everyone*. Melanie Martinez is an artist to keep an eye for as her career continues to grow.
8.5/10
* Subjective.
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