Fresh Goods #11

A couple weeks down, I’ve arrived with another batch of Fresh Goods. Let’s start with a review of a show I should’ve started ages ago…

Euphoria Season 1 Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajLoaFl2Zo&feature=emb_title

I had no business binging season 1 of this intense ass show in two days. Here are some of the many scattered thoughts I’ve shuffled through during and after the series. *Mild Spoilers Ahead* 

• This can’t be how grown-ass people actually view high school right? I mean, I’m only 3 years removed, it can’t be that drastic. This has to be some purposeful exaggeration because this is exhausting.
• This dude Nate acts like he can’t get dropped. Nobody is stepping to him and I just do not get it. A lot of those football jocks were always kind of weird but you can tell which ones don’t got it like that. Nate keeps a circle full of people who won’t check him.
• I’m going to sound like an old man here but why hasn’t anyone called the cops on these loud-ass parties? You mean to tell me there are no neighbors fed up with this shit? That’s a load of nonsense.
• Fezco is the chillest dude on earth. His heart rate almost never goes up. He thinks he’s me, except he’s just a drug dealer and I do the writing thing. Other than that, I relate to his energy on a personal level.
• This probably works so much better in a weekly format. At least you have some time to recharge from the chaos radiating from this show’s cast of complicated people. I’m going in raw like everything was cool. I should’ve got some advice on how to consume this show. Instead I have a tremendous headache now.
• Every character on this show is good-looking, it is astounding. No ugly representation at all. All the drug shit aside, that has to be the most unrealistic part of this show. Do you mean to tell me everyone looks good here?
• Who the hell is this 6ix9ine looking 11-year-old selling drugs with Fez?
• All of these characters aside from maybe Rue’s family are insanely fucked up. There is not one person here that does not make me shake my head like a disappointed parent.
• I’m shipping hard for Jules and Rue. It’s been a hot minute since I rooted for someone to succeed like I am with Jules. She’s got issues but Hunter Schafer sells her character with an almost deceptive purity. Even when she screws up, her intentions aren’t bad. She carries a mountain of issues and lets them out in an unhealthy way.
• I hate Nate and his funky-ass dad with every bone in my body.
• This show is stressing me out, I need an Advil.
• Kat is doing a lot, man. I respect the bag chasing but good lord. This ain’t it.
• This show traps you after a while honestly. It’s like if 13 Reasons Why was actually a good show. The exaggeration gets draining very quickly but it has some good direction, albeit a bit self-indulgent at times. The characters have multiple dimensions and don’t give me gray hairs with their acting. All of them, aside from an elite few, are incredibly unlikable
• Take what I have to say with a grain of salt since I’m a homebody, but I am shocked at the idea of someone playing JID at the party. Lil Baby would’ve rung off like 8 times by now, not JID.
• The carnival episode is crazy, I can’t contain my nerves at all.
• Why hasn’t Fez sent Nate to see Ronald Reagan down in hell yet?
• Something about Donny Hathaway always makes me tear up every time. There’s never a bad time for him either.

I didn’t expect to like Euphoria the way that I did, especially after how exhausting everything was. I’m not opposed to immediately loathing characters with bad traits, especially if the writing is good to make them someone to root for (except for Nate, who is literally a demon sent to real havoc on everyone. Bojack Horseman is an all-time bad person but through context and good character building, you want to see that person improve. I am anticipating Season 2 a lot and I’m hoping that the weekly format of it will be a lot easier to digest. Binging it in two sittings was a mistake for my anxiety. 

BRWNSOUNDS - WITH LOVE

There is this lazy thing listeners and critics do where they subject any artist rapping about depression over cloudy production to Earl Sweatshirt comparisons. It’s not an insult by any stretch but it’s reductive to force every rapper with the slightest baritone in their voice into that bubble. It distracts from the content and takes away from the compelling textures brought to the table. With Love is gorgeous in the way it introduces lo-fi hip-hop without feeling like the cliched study beats in YouTube’s algorithm. 

Brwnsounds brings a distinct warmth to the table. In one moment, it has the same coziness found in your local coffee shop (“4You”). In another, he brings a very specific nostalgia likened to hearing old soul records played in grandma’s house (“WITH LOVE”). More than anything, it feels like years of growth without feeling battered or jaded. It’s the soundtrack to those walks to work or those early mornings in school hallways. Brwnsounds is extremely relatable here too; there’s a rawness to his lyrics that strike the pits of the stomach. “Sometimes I don’t know what I’m living for… and I don’t know what the future holds, I’m living slow,” he states dryly on “Sometimes/Nevermind.” It’s hard not to root for an artist that is so earnest but doesn’t come off corny or heavy handed. With Love makes for an excellent introduction to an intriguing talent with tons of room to grow. 

G HERBO- “REALLY LIKE THAT”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0WYlMip5IQ&feature=emb_title

Every year or so, I find myself more and more surprised that G Herbo continues to reach new heights in his music. Welcome to Fazoland unleashed one of the hungriest rappers I had ever heard. Chicago’s invigorating drill scene was running rampant in Florida at the time and Herb’s incessant desire to avoid the sound separated him from the rest. It made Ballin Like I’m Kobe one of the most anticipated mixtapes of its time. “How would I live if God guaranteed my life was long?” on “L’s” was gospel for some kids my age. In the years following, he may have lost some of that fanbase in favor of the next hot thing, but those in the know saw an artist with an excellent catalog and no signs of falling off. Swervo boasts some of the best songs to come out of Chicago in the 2010s (see “Catch Up”). 

After a solid outing in 2020 with PTSD, G Herbo returned with one of the most electrifying rap singles of the year. Tay Keith’s beat borders on apocalyptic as Herbo’s flow drills through its foundation. Even in its chilling moments, he shrugs it off. The production brings an urgency that doesn’t allow him to marinate with the trauma he experienced at 9 years old. Herb is a realist, he notices the bleaker moments that made him and magnifies them. It’s the confidence he brings to a record like this that makes him stand on top despite trials and tribulations.

WEWANTWRAITHS- “KNOW YOU”

I always feel a bit out of my depth when covering UK rap. Perhaps it’s the big cultural difference as a southern American, but there’s always been a disconnect. Despite that, great music transcends those barriers, and wewantwraiths’ gentle “Know You” might be the gateway into a scene I haven’t fully explored yet. The push and pull between him and this woman gives the song a lot of form but the most interesting part for me was the beat. Its wistful ambiance is reminiscent of Animal Crossing music, curious and exploratory in its calm atmosphere. There’s a chilling but gorgeous grayness to it that allows the drill aspects of it to give the beat some structure. With beats like this, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the UK scene. 

ZILLAKAMI- “CHAINS”

When XXXTentacion and the rest of the South Florida scene on Soundcloud were blossoming in 2016-2017, there were a bunch of amateur video edits to accompany them. Sometimes, they’d be sad, as to aestheticize depression rather than get into anything meaningful. But more times than not, the interesting visuals were the anime fight scenes or a wrestling death match montage to accompany aggressive Ronny J-type beats. With time, those ideas spread out from their regional boundaries and formed into their own sound. Nobody has done it better than Zillakami, taking the blown-out 808s and adding metal guitars to the fray. On “CHAINS,” it’s one massive Mortal Kombat fatality of a song. It’s violent and bloody, confident in its ability to conquer. “Ho, I'm on your street, I got the Glocky, just in case this operation turn a little sloppy,” he says defiantly. The hook plays like many City Morgue songs do; bound to create chaos in a mosh pit when things open up again. Zillakami does rock music better than 75% of the more formal rockstars today. 

Thanks for tuning into another batch of Fresh Goods. This week’s Freshest of the Bunch is Herb Alpert’s “Making Love in The Rain.” I could go for a lot more rainy days out here in sunny Southern California. Follow me on Twitter @caleb_catlin23 to keep updated on everything I’m working on.