Jun 27, 2025 at 7:36 PM XXXTENTACTION - ? review I haven’t listened to this guy’s music in years, not since he blew up with Look At Me! probably. I remember hearing his album 17 and actually liking how raw and melodic most of it sounded - I should relisten and see if my opinion on that one has changed. Besides the giga viral singles, I never really picked this project up and gave it a proper shot (hence why this pick made me very excited, as I did not know what to expect, it’s been years since I last listened to X after all). I had plenty of time today so I decided on going track by track and seeing where that leads me. I’ll get into this review by saying that the intro on here is possibly the single worst way I’ve heard an album kick off ever. Good lord the so called instructions were annoyingly pretentious and painful to listen to. It’s good that the second track reedemed the s-----y start. I liked his vocals, X had a pretty good voice and was pretty talented at crafting melodies. It’s pretty great how a slow song like this one has an infectious quality to it. The following tracks, Moonlight and SAD! are, appropriately so, this project’s singles (I’m pretty sure). Both songs are vibrant, fun, and catchy, with SAD! probably being one of his best songs from what I’ve heard so far. Moonlight is decent but sounds a tad lazy vocally and lyrically alike. I also have to give a shoutout to the production which sounds refined but still keeps that indie(ish) edge. The following song, The Remedy For a Broken Heart… isn’t my favorite but it does have some cool elements, mainly the use of the acoustic guitar alongside the sample. It creates a unique, haunting atmosphere. Floor 555 goes hard as f---. I already knew that X and Denzel were tight and influenced eachother, this song solidifies that further. The energy is immense, like, I’m tryna mosh right now. NUMB is cool performance wise but sounds a bit generic and bland to me instrumentally. Not something I’d go back to. The reverse is true for the following song, infinity (888). I loved the beat on here but found both verses boring, the outro portion of the track did not help either; it just made the whole thing sound even messier and disorganized. I liked going down! It’s catchy all around, especially that hook. I’m glad that, like most tracks on this album, the song doesn’t overstay its welcome. The little midwest inspired riff on Pain = BESTFRIEND sounded cute on my first listen but I seriously disliked how low effort this track is. It doesn’t sound finished! There are things to like there but the song doesn’t really shine to the point where one can say this demo-like sound is a viable aesthetic and an artistic choice. ---’s parts on $$$ are pretty hard but the feature is pretty unlistenable. A forgettable track. SMASH was okay but a little lazy, I don’t mind it as much cause of the short runtime. The transition to i don’t even speak spanish lol was pretty cool and unexpected. I did not know what to expect from this track but I had a lot of fun with it. I was impressed by how smooth and effortless it sounded. I loved the melodies and how they worked with the beat. Changes is a very pretty track and one of the rare occasions on this album where I feel like the ‘demo’ approach to structuring the song works. ---’s voice and lyricism carry enough weight here and warrant their own moment. I loved how this song flowed into Hope; a track that’s one of my favorites on here. This man could create a very eerie atmosphere (was aware of this ever since hearing 17), and when it works it f---ing works big time. I’m pretty lukewarm on the final two tracks. One is a pretty amateur-sounding SOAD inspired, nu metal tune that could’ve probably been a lot better if it was worked on more, while the other is an another lazy attempt at constructing a weird indie guitar boy aesthetic. All in all this album, to me, was a real mixed bag. There are some undoubtedly great moments that prove the man’s sky-high levels of creativity but also some that pissed me off with how superficial they came of as (be it conceptually, or musically). XXXTENTACTION’s dabbling in several different genres and styles is pretty formiddable and I truly respect it. I think that, if he had more time, he would’ve evolved into a seriously fascinating artist. It is a shame he wasn’t able to advance his craft. I struggled with rating this album but ultimately decided on giving it a 6.5/10 Thank you all for reading and thank you @DiggleDogg69 for the interesting pick! @AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau
Jun 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM 8 Reviews in already!!! Haven't even got the next album announced yet Hey @Evad you still alive? You returned and have been Mia
Jun 27, 2025 at 11:38 PM I’m up next right? If you guys want me to announce my album right now a day early I can
