genesis owusu, holy crap!

finishing up my first listen of his new album 'smiling with no teeth' and i'm basically speechless, this thing is so surprising and packed with brilliant ideas. i saw some positive chatter about him in the r&b thread, but man does this album deserve its own thread.

videos are also very much worth watching
"the other black dog"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25CBe5FAvtI

"don't need you"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6F67VIn-k

It has brilliant and okay ideas; I lose interest in the middle stretch before regaining it in the last third. You're generally right, though.

i hadn’t heard any of the singles, so i was totally put off by the opening tracks, which was far too death grips-y, but he won me over with track two and i was willing to roll with the punches.

yeah some of his rapping on it is very death grips-esque

there's some good stuff on this album but idk how i feel about it as a whole yet, it's very all over the place

rapping also reminded me a bit of bartees strange. the short of it is, the tracks where he rapped weren’t the ones that spoke to me, but the unpredictable, all-over-the-place nature of the album was one of the things I liked most

The Other Black Dog is absolutely one of my jams of the year.

listened to this more and i think it's largely good-not-great, at its best when it's leaning more neo-soul

The Other Black Dog is absolutely one of my jams of the year.

― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin),

The way the melody keeps going up-up-up.

That one almost sounds like a Hole chorus to me, I could hear Courtney singing it.

I do need to finally listen to the whole thing here.

Xxp yes a similar trick to "The System" by Popcaan

I like that all the variety he gets praised isn't totally scattergun but directed at scratching and soothing his trauma. At least in interviews he's said something along these lines - the recurring Story of the two black dogs representing racism and depression. And he's just as adventurous vocally as musically. And I agree that the middle section tends towards songs that sound a little less complete than those at the beginning and end, although I have no problem with Gold Chains, Drown and the title track, so I guess I'm just talking about Easy and Black Dogs. Anyway, my album of the year so far for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF8Ob8sXgFI

I liked a lot of the ideas I heard on this album but it collapses under its own weight and ambition at times. I hear TV on the Radio, Bartees Strange, and even slowthai...but it's more radio-ready. Fav tracks: The Other Black Dog, Drown, Whip Cracker.

For anyone who's interested, the LP (which has been unavailable more often than not this year) is available for pre-order again.

https://genesisowusu.bandtshirts.com.au/tag/vinyl

New song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwobGg9q3gI

another new one, "leaving the light" is a lot of visceral fun. new album coming this friday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdYtpO1uXpo

^

Several singles from the new album have leaked, all solid. Still absorbing the album.

Regret not catching him last time through, hopefully this time, whenever it is.

latest single is very very good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gluT1ObPmQA

Good album.

Spotify recommended the new album - never heard of him before but really enjoying it. This single is a fantastic pop song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69nnHQVl40g

listened in the car yesterday and thought it was pretty darn good. "hellstar" is a highlight, so is "big dog." i still think "life keeps going" is a cut above the rest though

A jam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymgJGyzp0gk

i think his rapping has improved a lot on this project. on earlier albums, his flow kind of felt like it was filler between hooks, but he is locked in. like, a rapping-forward "blessed is the meek" track would have probably been a lowlight on an earlier project, but he slides on it. it's one of my faves.

Yeah this album's great. I liked the first one, not sure I actually listened to the second, but this feels like a fulfillment of earlier promise. I like the range of settings he's comfortable in, like he's not exactly making hip-hop or rock or dance music, it's all the same. Banger after banger.

Small clutch of club-level US dates upcoming, on sale tomorrow:

Nov 05 Los Angeles, CA - Lodge Room

Nov 06 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop

Nov 08 Seattle, WA - Hidden Hall

Nov 10 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle

Nov 12 Brooklyn, NY - Baby's All Right

this is just ... fine? there's a lot of variety but it's mostly just ends up sort of workman-like, it's lacking anything to elevate it

Each track has an aural tag to remember it, his vocal adaptability impresses me, and when I listen to the lyrics they're enraged and engagé.