Drunk [LP]

by Thundercat

Overview

Between Apocalypse and Drunk, his second and third albums, bassist Stephen Bruner contributed to a slew of remarkable recordings by fellow Los Angeles dwellers -- Flying Lotus' You're Dead!, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered, Kamasi Washington's The Epic, and Terrace Martin's Velvet Portraits among them. Several months before Bruner picked up a Grammy for "These Walls," off To Pimp a Butterfly, he issued an EP anchored by "Them Changes." His funkiest, sweetest, most vulnerable song, it reappears as the top highlight on Drunk, a fragmentary and scattered program relative to the Thundercat full-lengths that preceded it. Bruner is still fueled by numerous late forms that immediately preceded his birth -- smooth soul, soft rock, jazz fusion, synth funk and pop, all late '70s/early '80s -- and filters them through his soft-hearted, mischievous personality. He surrounds himself with a slightly different cast of old and newer associates, including the first three figures listed above: keyboardist Dennis Hamm, drummer Louis Cole, and producer Sounwave. For better and worse, there's a lot of foolishness occurring here. Bruner dreams about being a cat (replete with meowing background melody), pens a tribute to Japanese pop culture ("Just point me to the Pachinko machines"), and delivers a sarcastic jingle regarding social media fatigue ("I'm out here probably doing the most"). At times, the whimsicality sinks into middle school humor ("Captain Stupido") and crass misogyny ("Friend Zone"). Love and mortality remain Bruner's strongest subjects, placed on full display in terse but touching ballads like "Lava Lamp," "Jethro," and "3AM." In "Show You the Way," another bright spot, he swaps verses with Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, two of his heroes, to swirling and balmy effect. Additional guests Kendrick, Pharrell, and Wiz Khalifa add to the star power, but the main attraction is Bruner's singular combination of tremulous yet fluid bass and aching falsetto. [Drunk was also released on LP.] ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	03/10/2017
Label:	Brainfeeder
UPC:	5054429007763
Rank:	20584

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Rabbot Ho
2. Captain Stupido
3. Uh Uh
4. Bus in These Streets
5. A Fan's Mail (Tron Song Suite II)
6. Lava Lamp

Disc 2

7. Jethro
8. Day & Night
9. Show You the Way
10. Walk on By
11. Blackkk
12. Tokyo

Disc 3

13. Jameel's Space Ride
14. Friend Zone
15. Them Changes
16. Where I'm Going
17. Drink Dat
18. Inferno

Disc 4

19. I Am Crazy
20. 3AM
21. Drunk
22. The Turn Down
23. DUI