By focusing all of his creative energy and production work into this album and working with minimal outside help, Kid Cudi delivers another solid, if slightly unfulfilling, album.
Kid Cudi is one of the more intriguing mainstream rappers. For years he has commercial success and moderate critical acclaim based around his "lonely stoner" persona and his rather unconventional sound which doesn't fit in anywhere - too weird for the mainstream, too mainstream for the underground. Yet despite this, he has managed to maintain a relatively faithful and large fanbase that will listen to the stories he tells via his "Man On The Moon" concept albums, with the first part being released in 2009 and the sequel being released shortly after in 2010.
The third and final part of his stories isn't being released until 2015, but he's certainly not leaving fans empty handed. In 2011, he formed a rock side project called WZRD and than later returned to rap in 2013 for his first album that wasn't part of the Man On The Moon trilogy, Indicud. This album was his first post-G.O.O.D Music album, and was more or less an experimental, psychedelic vanity project that showcased that he could produce a full album and that he was finally independent.
Satellite Flight is a surprise EP-turned-album that was released at the very end of February, and takes place directly where Indicud left off. Consisting of ten songs, four of which are instrumentals, the album is almost entirely produced by Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius, better known as the collaborative WZRD, and there are no features on the album apart from acclaimed RnB artist Raphael Saadiq on Balmain Jeans, who is mostly just there to provide atmosphere to the raunchy pseudo-ballad.
The album's sound is distinctively Kid Cudi - that is to say, spacy, psychedelic beats being rapped over by a monotone stoner who rarely emotes. The album works best when Cudi steps outside of his comfort zone - take highlight track Copernicus Landing, for example. It is an instrumental track with layers and layers of dark synths looped for four minutes, eventually building and building up before Cudi's haunting and distant voice comes in and applies an eerie feel to the track. Or the other two instrumentals on the album not including the intro, In My Dreams 2015 and Return Of The Moon Man (Original Score). The former is an interlude that retools the first track of his debut album and chops it down, layers some new synths down, and throws it through a vocoder and the latter is Cudi attempting a film score, ultimately achieving moderate success.
As for the actual tracks with Cudi on the album, he sounds a lot more energetic than he used to and it pays off in the long run. Take the energetic and celebratory opener "Going To The Ceremony", a rock influenced track which easily could've been an outtake from WZRD. With bittersweet bars such as "Drinking again, drinking again/ Bottles up, I'm in to win/But none of my friends, just me and this bottle", it shows that Cudi is on top of the world and he knows it - but at the same time he's still the insecure stoner kid who made "Day N Nite" five years ago. Or the druggy club ballad "Balmain Jeans", which showcases a softer side of Cudi while simultaneously letting the listener know that Cudi himself still doesn't know who he is or who to trust.
There are a few low points on the album, including Internal Bleeding, which is mostly Kid Cudi moaning over a minimal beat for four minutes. It tries to sound emotional, but it just comes across as weak. Another is how the album doesn't have a fulfilling ending or even a cliffhanger, closer Troubled Boy is just another weak angsty track over a soft, acoustic guitar that just sort of ends.
This is a Kid Cudi album, he's not trying anything new here. He knows his limitations and his sound and he's working with that. If you never liked him before, this won't change that - but if you've been on Scott Mescudi's ride since the beginning, stop number four is an enjoyable one.
7/10
Highlights
Kid Cudi is one of the more intriguing mainstream rappers. For years he has commercial success and moderate critical acclaim based around his "lonely stoner" persona and his rather unconventional sound which doesn't fit in anywhere - too weird for the mainstream, too mainstream for the underground. Yet despite this, he has managed to maintain a relatively faithful and large fanbase that will listen to the stories he tells via his "Man On The Moon" concept albums, with the first part being released in 2009 and the sequel being released shortly after in 2010.
The third and final part of his stories isn't being released until 2015, but he's certainly not leaving fans empty handed. In 2011, he formed a rock side project called WZRD and than later returned to rap in 2013 for his first album that wasn't part of the Man On The Moon trilogy, Indicud. This album was his first post-G.O.O.D Music album, and was more or less an experimental, psychedelic vanity project that showcased that he could produce a full album and that he was finally independent.
Satellite Flight is a surprise EP-turned-album that was released at the very end of February, and takes place directly where Indicud left off. Consisting of ten songs, four of which are instrumentals, the album is almost entirely produced by Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius, better known as the collaborative WZRD, and there are no features on the album apart from acclaimed RnB artist Raphael Saadiq on Balmain Jeans, who is mostly just there to provide atmosphere to the raunchy pseudo-ballad.
The album's sound is distinctively Kid Cudi - that is to say, spacy, psychedelic beats being rapped over by a monotone stoner who rarely emotes. The album works best when Cudi steps outside of his comfort zone - take highlight track Copernicus Landing, for example. It is an instrumental track with layers and layers of dark synths looped for four minutes, eventually building and building up before Cudi's haunting and distant voice comes in and applies an eerie feel to the track. Or the other two instrumentals on the album not including the intro, In My Dreams 2015 and Return Of The Moon Man (Original Score). The former is an interlude that retools the first track of his debut album and chops it down, layers some new synths down, and throws it through a vocoder and the latter is Cudi attempting a film score, ultimately achieving moderate success.
As for the actual tracks with Cudi on the album, he sounds a lot more energetic than he used to and it pays off in the long run. Take the energetic and celebratory opener "Going To The Ceremony", a rock influenced track which easily could've been an outtake from WZRD. With bittersweet bars such as "Drinking again, drinking again/ Bottles up, I'm in to win/But none of my friends, just me and this bottle", it shows that Cudi is on top of the world and he knows it - but at the same time he's still the insecure stoner kid who made "Day N Nite" five years ago. Or the druggy club ballad "Balmain Jeans", which showcases a softer side of Cudi while simultaneously letting the listener know that Cudi himself still doesn't know who he is or who to trust.
There are a few low points on the album, including Internal Bleeding, which is mostly Kid Cudi moaning over a minimal beat for four minutes. It tries to sound emotional, but it just comes across as weak. Another is how the album doesn't have a fulfilling ending or even a cliffhanger, closer Troubled Boy is just another weak angsty track over a soft, acoustic guitar that just sort of ends.
This is a Kid Cudi album, he's not trying anything new here. He knows his limitations and his sound and he's working with that. If you never liked him before, this won't change that - but if you've been on Scott Mescudi's ride since the beginning, stop number four is an enjoyable one.
7/10
Highlights
- Going To The Ceremony
- Satellite Flight
- Copernicus Landing
- Balmain Jeans (featuring Rapheal Saadiq)
- Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now
- Return Of The Moon Man (Original Score)