I mean, this one has been long overdue…
Look, for this review I’ll try as much as possible to seperate the art from the artist, because I really believe Travis did something really solid on this album and I don’t want the context of certain… Events that took place prior to the release of this album to ruin not only my enjoyment of this project but also this review itself. I am simply going to look at this album experience as is, just simply musically speaking. With that out of the way, let’s get this one started, because it’s a big one.
Travis Scott’s UTOPIA – one of the most if not the single most anticipated album of not only this year but possibly this whole decade so far. The hype surrounded by this album was to put it lightly just enormous – under such huge expactations there was no way that Travis would manage to meet them under any circumstances. And yet I believe he kinda did – I mean this album is no Rodeo, like there is plenty of wrong here and we’ll get into that, but through and through Travis managed to pull through with a really cohesive listening experience front to back that I think is a testament for what great things he is able to achieve when he puts his mind to it.
Now to take this, as usual, track by track, we have the opener „HYENA“ which opens with this sung/spoken word piece which after a while leads straight into the track itself and man let me tell you, it does NOT mess around. Right off the back the industrial drums with the really raw keys mash together really really well, it sounds like something that would easily find itself onto Travis’s first studio album „Rodeo“. Then Travis himself comes in with this really energetic flow that just keeps on going and going, he’s really trying here and you can hear it. And man when the beat stops just for a second and Travis starts rapping over the short silence and then the beat comes back in and matches his flow PERFECTLY, that’s like a perfect moment for me. Yeah all around a super solid opener that sets the bar reaaally high. Next is the song „THANK GOD“ and while it does take a little time to really get started, it rewards you enormously for being patient with it – the constant switches, the orchestral elements, the suspense, this all has got it all in just around 3 minutes of runtime too. Plus I’d be lying if the Storm inclussion in the track wasn’t cute as all hell so. Yeah, not as good as the first one but still on that level of quality all around. Next up is the song „MODERN JAM“ which is kinda rough around the edges at first, the robotic minimalist Yeezus-type beat can be kinda hit or miss for me, but when the synths come in after a while they improve the song substantially, even though it doesn’t really evolve anywhere. I like this one still – it’s really catchy and even though I’m not completely sold on it I really appriciate what it tries to do, it at least keeps the tracklist fresh. Now the next song „MY EYES“ is… Simply put phenomenal. This is as of right now probably in my top 5 Travis song PERIOD. Like I liked the autotune startin 2 minutes well enough as is, the singing reminds me of something like Frank Ocean or Bon Iver but with an obvious Travis twist on it, it’s really pretty and the production absolutely slaps – but MAN when the beat-switch kicks in… There are kinda no words for how that makes me feel. That switch just does something to my brain. There is so much to dissect here… Like the second beat on this song is one of the most prettiest beats I’ve heard probably ever. The synths are so eargasmic and Travis just matches that energy perfectly. Like I get VISUALS when I listen to this song, I SEE the vibe. I absolutely adore this song. I ain’t even gonna lie, this is hands down my favorite on the whole album. Which is why it’s a shame that it’s followed by one of my least favorite in the form of „GOD’S COUNTRY“ which is… Alright? Look the sample isn’t all that great really, it just feels really off and no ammount of proffesional musical engineering can hide that. Besides the not-so-pleasant sample though, the song isn’t all that offensive – and honestly the beat at times isn’t even that bad, but it’s still not one of the better tracks on here. Not much to add here, the fundation of the song just falls flat on its face for me so. Now „SIRENS“ is a whole different story – the swirling keys combined once again with the hard-hitting drums make this song feel like some sort of march. The drums are in fact really good on this one – they sound super crisp and natural. Not much else to say here, the song is pretty good. After that comes the song „MELTDOWN“ with none other than Drake – and for once he actually delivers! But like really really delivers, like this has to be one of the best Drake features in a hot minute, like in a few years actually. He absolutely destroys this beat. The beat-switch is also pretty decent, not „MY EYES“ level of beat switch, but nonetheless still pretty good. It essentially serves as a transition between Drake’s part of the song and Travis’s part – both really good that together make for one hell of a song. We can only hope that the upcoming Drake album will be half as good as this feature was. Next up is „FE!N“ with Playboi Carti and… Okay like I get the hype behind this one, it’s a Travis song with Playboi Carti, that’s like THE event of the year right? Well, the song isn’t bad per se, but it still isn’t all that imaginative either – like okay, the synths and the beat itself is honestly pretty hype, but repeating the word „fein“ like a milion times over and over does get old after a while. And that kinda sums up Carti’s inclussion in this song, so it’s still basically just a Travis song with a Carti hook that’s barely a hook at all. Still, there are much worse songs on this record and this one at least keeps the aesthethic going while still switching it up a bit. Next is the song „DELRESTO (ECHOES)“ with Beyoncé which like c’mon, this song should have been amazing. But even though everything Beyoncé-related in this song is pure magic, Travis honestly really underdelivers here, as does the production – the core beat is really minimal and doesn’t evolve much and there is just too much empty space of Travis just singing in autotune and doing basically nothing for around a minute. It honestly feels like a dragged-out transition, not a big fan of this one – the good elements are there, but there just should have been more polish with this one. Beyoncé really killed it though, kudos to her. I also believe I’ve heard Bon Iver like two times in the song?? I don’t really know, this song is kinda a mess. The next song „I KNOW?“ however picks things up pretty substantially – the minimalist beat here actually works, because the song knows what it wants. And it does that perfectly – the dark 3 am atmosphere is just seeping through this track and I love it. Travis also does like really really well on this one, his melodies on this one are very pretty, I like it a lot. Just not overdoing with this one, really simple, but really effective, definitely a highlight. „TOPIA TWINS“ is a weird one – on one hand the beat has to be like one of my favorites here, the hook is really catchy and 21 Savage is, well, 21 – but honestly the lyrics from Rob49 in the first verse and some other lyrics on this one are just complete eye-rolls. I don’t know, I don’t dislike the song, but it’s a really goofy one. Sort of a waste of a beat in my eyes. Next up is „CiIRCUS MAXIMUS“ and the Yeezus comparisons REALLY start to show themselves on this one – the beat is basically just Black Skinhead reinvented. The Weeknd is a nice addition to the song but he feels kinda out of place on this song still. The drums are obviously really good, the synth outro isn’t bad either, but the song probably could have used some more… I don’t know, just something. Like I don’t really remember a single line or a melody from this one except the drum loop which is indeed really good though. Maybe I’m overthinking it, the song is still really good. The next song „PARASAIL“ is one I see a lot of people criticizing probably the most on this album (except maybe one which we’ll get to later) and look, I get that the song is more of an interlude, but MAN, I just love the beat on this one, I can’t lie to myself – the gentle guitar plucks and the melodies are really gorgeous. The song isn’t anything special as many before me have already pointed out, but I appriciate it for what it is. „SKITZO“ is one of the longer songs on this album and honestly I think that’s the biggest criticism I have with this one – it EASILY could have been like a minute or two shorter, Young Thug’s first verse isn’t all that crazy and Travis just repeats the chorus over and over in the first part of the song. The first switch is really cool, feels really twisted and out of this world and Travis absolutely boddies it. Plus it’s a really cool transition into the actual second part of the song, which is your typical Travis Scott beatswitch, but I like this one quite a bit. It does go through a lot of phases, once again really reminiscent of Yeezus, because all of the 4 switches are completely out of the blue, yet they work really well. The last beatswitch is more of a sample with some orchestral elements etc., finnishes the song of quite nicely and transitions really well into the next „LOST FOREVER“ with Westside Gunn. Speaking of Gunn… Yeah, he owns this track. The song starts of somewhat decent but when Westside Gunn comes in and the beat completely flips with him, I mean that’s like a top 3 moment on this album. And he just spits and spits, there is almost no breathing room. And Travis does really well too when he switches with Gunn too, they have surprisingly decent chemistry. Yeah, this one is a banger. As is the next song „LOOOVE“ which I feel is almost like the more realised version of CIRCUS MAXIMUS and DELRESTO in one hard-hitting, in-your-face track. Sure, it may not be the most experimental or ground-breaking thing on this album, but it sure as hell slaps. Travis also gets really primal and agressive with his flow for a second towards the end, like there is really passion behind that. Another great song here. After that comes the first single to this thing and what I think is the most out-of-place song on this song on this album, which is „K-POP“ with Bad Bunny and The Weeknd once again. And while I believe the song works better in the context of this album, I still don’t really enjoy it. Bad Bunny does okay, Travis is barely even on this song and The Weeknd’s verse is really atrocious. I’m sorry but those are some really awful lyrics there, especially the korean tsunami bar, that one is just straight up racist I feel like. Yeah, still not all that huge on this song, probably could have done without it honestly. I do really enjoy the second to last track „TELEKINESIS“ with SZA and Future. I mean this type of song is just my kind of song – from the ethereal, spacey, gorgeous beat, to the earworm melodies on the hook and the background voices, I just love this one. And SZA really steals the show towards the end, all the people on this song absolutely kill it in my opinion. The only thing is that it probably could have been a little shorter though, like for a 6 minute song, there isn’t THAT much happening. That’s honestly more of a nitpick though, in reality I can’t get enough of this song. And finally the closer „TIL FURTHER NOTICE“ with 21 Savage and James Blake – I mean that just sounds like all the ingredients for a banger closing track. 21’s verse is really solid in my opinion and James Blake is just phenomenal as always. Everytime he comes on he steals the show with his voice. The beat also feels very final and like something is coming to an end, just the perfect choice for a closer all around finnishing with Travis’s verse and some female vocals as the beat finally comes to an end – no nitpicks here, great finnisher.
So the question has to be asked… Did it deliver? Well mostly I’d say yes – there are some big big flaws with it, but the majority of the tracks and moments on this album really lived up to that hype. It’s not on the level of Rodeo in the slightest, but at least for me it did surpass ASTROWORLD as the superior release. Let’s just hope that his output stays at least on this level of quality continuing forward.
-favorite tracks: HYENA, THANK GOD, MODERN JAM, MY EYES, SIRENS, MELTDOWN, I KNOW?, parts of TOPIA TWINS, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, parts of PARASAIL, SKITZO, LOST FOREVER, LOOOVE, TELEKINESIS, TIL FURTHER NOTICE
-least favorite tracks: parts of DELRESTO (ECHOES), parts of TOPIA TWINS, parts of PARASAIL, K-POP (FE!N is just okay)
Decent 8/10