HYPERYOUTH

BRAT but for 20-30 year old boys who played Halo on the Xbox 360. I loved their previous record, No Hands, for what it was. A collection of hard, bouncy, fun bangers which always reliably put me in a great mood. It didn't have much depth, but JV and B had fantastic, nostalgic, Beastie Boys inspired production and raps, with witty, light-hearted and sometimes cringey bars. With Hyperyouth (what a fantastic name for a record by the way) they're "updating" their influences to the early 2000s club and pop music, drenching it in their goofy and immature sauce. When they are within these limits their music is still phenomenal, their rapping style works great on these instrumentals and they have fantastic chemistry with their features. I especially love "SEE U DANCE" with Rebecca Black, which sounds like an alternate universe version of Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous". However, they're also trying to weave through this theme of hating having to grow up, in the most literal sense of the phrase. They try to thematically connect the bangers with the growing up theme by comparing staying young with dancing, but it's quite a stretch, and as a result the record feels very disjointed. And while I appreciate the earnestness of the lyrics, they can get pretty bad: Things are moving too fast I just really miss my friends Shut up if you don't get it 'Cause then everybody went and grew up Might as well put the noose up Evеrybody think they crew tough All you acting like you knеw us I just wanna play Xbox Bro is contemplating suicide in one bar, and missing his Xbox immediately after, I would be embarrassed to play this in front of someone. To further salt the wound, the final song on the record, "DISCO TOMORROW", is a perfect example that JV & B are able to pull off this "I don't want to grow up I will dance forever" idea when they give it their best. If all the other more emotional songs were so lyrically subdued and sonically cohesive with the themes of the album, this would've been a great step in the right direction for their development as artists. As it stands now, it's an admirable attempt, but unfortunately, mostly a misstep. Favorite tracks: HYPERYOUTH, BUST DOWN, SEE U DANCE, DISCO TOMORROW