Going from something as beautiful as “Reims” to something as devilish as “Pressure” is really something only RL Grime could make work, but it works so. Even though we’ve been able to listen to “Reims” for months now, it just sounds different in the context of the album.Īfter “Reims” comes “Pressure,” easily the hardest and most bass-heavy track of the album. The intro is positively stunning with the oscillating synths and subtle synths in the background, bringing in the chimes and pumping up the suspense. It’s mellow and melodic and flows magically right into “Reims,” one of RL Grime’s most anthemic future bass tracks ever.
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“Shoulda” is, completely out of left field, a liquid breaks tune, something we’ve never heard from him before. Now we get to my favorite part of the album: “Shoulda,” “Reims,” “Pressure,” and “Era.” This is when RL Grime takes it back to pure production and flexes hard. Each rapper brings their own flavor, all rolled up into a nice, neat package by RL’s production. And then we get “OMG” with Joji and Chief Keef, which is exactly what it sounds like. The drop is more of an anthemic trap than we’ve heard on the rest of the album so far, which not only keeps things fresh but also demonstrates RL’s willingness to experiment.
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RL Grime seriously flexes his sound design and arrangement on “Take It Away” with Ty Dolla $ign and TK Kravitz, bringing in wildly discordant synths and melodies for an other-worldly effect. This is easily one of the more radio-friendly singles from the album, but still readily accessible for the trappiest of heads. “Undo” comes in with Jeremih and Tory Lanez, a half R&B/half subtle trap tune that has a wonderful melody tying it all together. Fans have already heard “Light Me Up” with Julia Michaels and Miguel earlier this week, a subdued and relatively simple track that focuses mostly on Michaels’ and Miguel’s vocals. “Shrine” is incredible in its inherent emotionality and Ridings is easily one of the more impressive vocalists we’ve heard, despite having never featured on a dance music track before.Īt this point, RL brings in a host of featured vocalists to truly give the album some story content. RL Grime isn’t afraid to break boundaries in a genre that is so often territorial and rigid because he’s never been strictly in that community – he’s just making what he loves. As someone who first discovered dance music in drum & bass, I can confidently say that this is one of the finer DnB tunes that I’ve heard so far in 2018. NOVA quickly switches gears from the bass-heavy trap of “Feel Free” into the brilliantly beautiful “Shrine” with Freya Ridings. But look at this other shit I can do.” It begins with an anthemic vocal loop and melody that quickly transitions into a mind-melting trap drop that immediately reminds us why we love him. The album starts off with “Feel Free,” which feels to us like a statement from RL translating to, “Yeah, I still make heavy trap. These final four tracks are generally on the poppier side, especially with the Daya collaboration “I Wanna Know” and “UCLA” with 24hrs, which will undoubtedly become an anthem at the school. Following a brief interlude, we make our way into the final resolution of the album.
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RL GRIME NOVA ALBUM SERIES
This then transitions into a series of features, many from rappers, with Miguel & Julia Michaels, Jeremih & Tony Lanez, Ty Dolla $ign & TK Kravitz, and Joji & Chief Keef. From here, we move into one of the best four-track sections of any album I’ve heard before or since: “Shoulda,” “Reims,” “Pressure,” and “Era.” These are all pure production, and pure show-off status for RL. There are also pretty clear-cut divisions within NOVA that are worth mentioning now before we start: “Feel Free” and “Shrine” are both incredibly powerful and bright tracks that delve into some of RL Grime’s more technical productions. VOID carried with it an exceedingly dark undertone, exemplified in some of its bigger tracks like “Core” and “Scylla.” In contrast, NOVA is a brighter, purer expression of happiness if we’ve ever seen one. To say that VOID and NOVA are like night and day, respectively, isn’t an exaggeration. But NOVA is truly peak RL, as the 27-year-old producer ventures into new sounds and personal expressions, many of which we’ve never heard from him before. The widely recognized king of trap has always been about more than just his namesake, as he’s explored dubstep, future bass, and even drum & bass in many of his productions. The wait for RL Grime’s second album NOVA began as soon as his first album, VOID, dropped.