"AstroWorld is a peak in the auditory microcosm Travis Scott has been experimenting with throughout his career"
At a concert in the May before the release of his 2016 album "Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight", Jacques Berman Webster II (AKA Travis Scott) announced the name of the album that would come after: "AstroWorld". A single word that sent the crowd into hysteria.
The album was poised for a release the year after Birds but, much like that album, it was set back and delayed as Travis toured the world with "Birds". However in the summer of 2017 he released Butterfly Effect, a seemingly standalone single widely praised by fans, critics and even Barack Obama. As delays continued to stall the album's release, Scott managed to keep his fans busy in the by featuring on tracks by a variety of artists like Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar and Quavo, releasing a joint album with the latter. Scott even dropped in on a Fortnite livestream alongside Twitch streamer Ninja and collaborator Drake. While all this kept his name in the news, fans were still patiently awaiting solo work. But last Friday, AstroWorld was finally unleashed and, in a sentence, it's a peak in the auditory microcosm Travis Scott has been experimenting with throughout his career.
I say the above because AstroWorld is able to find a concentrated, cohesive sound, yet simultaneously demonstrating an excellent variance, versatility and consistency. In an interview with British GQ Scott himself, rather bizarrely, compared this sound to "taking an amusement park away from kids" which, with frequent listens, you begin to understand this strange comparison. Tracks like NC-17 and Houstonfornication both exert that specific creepiness inspired by abandoned theme parks and spooky circuses, infused with the all-important psychedelia that makes Scott's work so distinctive. Even the tracks that don't follow this archetype like Coffee Bean and Yosemite are still able to work in the scope of the experimental nature of the album.
Although no track portrays this experimentation better than AstroThunder; progressively slipping deeper into the AstroWorld sound by the second. It starts off with a fairly generic drum pattern, leaving the more experimental synths to the background. This intro seamlessly switches to the bulk of the track, where light, pitch-shifting synths gloss over Scott's signature auto-tuned vocals, lovingly layered by a smooth backing bass from Thundercat. It's a rare, sombre moment for the album as Travis raps 'feels like the life I need's a little distant' in the chorus possibly looking ahead to change and set an example for his daughter Stormi. These vocals reverberate into nothingness as the drums do, paving the way for a guitar-led outro. The beat seamlessly switches again as two of modern music's best guitarists perform a duet. With John Mayer on the lead and Thundercat on the bass, a blissfully psychedelic melody is created that evokes the contemplative feeling of looking to the stars on a late night.
Within the boundaries of rap, particularly in solo work, it can be difficult to prioritise a cohesive feeling across an album, but when done correctly, the results speak for themselves ("Good Kid m.a.a.d City", "Flower Boy", "Die Lit"). Like any great theme-park-themed album, guests are a priority and the guests featured on AstroWorld aren't chosen just for their exceptional talent as solo artists, but their ability to fixate that musical talent in the dark, beautiful soundscape of the album. Frank Ocean's high notes glimmer over the glittery lead synths on Carousel, Juice WRLD brings melodic order to the spiralling frenzy that is No Bystanders and Tame Impala pairs his neo-psychedelia with Travis' own on atmospheric anthem Skeletons.
With regards to features, Stop Trying To Be God is a clear standout. The song credits Kid Cudi, James Blake and Stevie Wonder. Just those names alone, each provoking vastly different musical backgrounds, goes to show the sheer versatility Travis manages to achieve with AstroWorld. The track opens with Cudi's lush hums alongside an echoing, pitched-up chorus from Blake. Despite the latter not being credited with production, you can definitely hear his influence on it's ambience. Piano keys and reversed synth hits loop throughout the beat provoke the thought that without the drums it could easily pass as a James Blake song.
While Stevie Wonder doesn't have lyrics on the song, his presence is one of the best presents the album offers in the form of a harmonica. For an instrument thought to be more accustomed towards blues and country, Wonder's harmonica skills work just as well with rap, adding depth to the fantastical, fever-dream-Disneyland feeling the track conveys. Much like "Astrothunder", it ends with a break away from rap as Blake is given a verse alongside synthwork very reminiscent of his own that wonderfully blends into a R&B organ. Stevie Wonder proceeds to steals the show with a harmonica and a harmonising Blake, which I'll allow you to experience for yourself.
After looking through critiques of the album, I've yet to seen mentioned the attention to detail AstroWorld has, especially in how it's mastered - making it sound like it was worked on for every day since its 2016 announcement. Stargazing on its own sounds as if it's happening all around you. The main beat, alongside Travis' finely auto-tuned vocals are accompanied by rhythmic glitches, echoes and a whole host of eerie noises in the background that firmly establish the experience you're in for during the next hour. All of this coupled with great levelling of bass and highs that shif through the track as and when they're needed makes for one of AstroWorld's best sounding tracks - and that's just the first half. As for the rest of the album; every auto-tuned ad-lib, echo and percussion hit feels accounted for, as if especially made for those listening with headphones to notice, interpret and appreciate these intricacies with every listen.
My only, very slight, qual with the album is that on the first few listens the amount of features can feel overwhelming, and some unnecessary. While Travis himself gets a lot of time on the album, it can feel particularly daunting when listening to Nav's mediocre outro to Yosemite, having an artist like Pharrell placed on backing vocals in Skeletons and featuring The Weeknd specifically on two tracks instead of branching the features out even further. However, with more listens and the realisation that the features are selected on the basis of style and contribution, this selection begins to feel comfortable.
In conclusion, AstroWorld isn't just the album both casual and die-hard fans of Travis have been waiting for, but the expertly crafted experience they deserved for braving that wait. It's incredible list of features entice new listeners, boundless of genre or time, launching them off on a spine-chilling, pulse-racing journey. There are faint moments of tranquility but, as you go through the album, you never know what could come at the next turn. Well, I guess that really does make this album a rollercoaster ride.