Thundercat

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

Drunk
New - 10 - BF064
Factory sealed 4LP 10" box set. "Between Apocalypse and Drunk, his second and third albums, bassist Stephen Bruner contributed to a slew of remarkable recordings by fellow Los Angeles dwellers -- Flying Lotus' You're Dead!, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled Unmastered, Kamasi Washington's The Epic, and Terrace Martin's Velvet Portraits among them. Several months before Bruner picked up a Grammy for "These Walls," off To Pimp a Butterfly, he issued an EP anchored by "Them Changes." His funkiest, sweetest, most vulnerable song, it reappears as the top highlight on Drunk, a fragmentary and scattered program relative to the Thundercat full-lengths that preceded it. Bruner is still fueled by numerous forms that immediately preceded his birth -- smooth soul, soft rock, jazz fusion, synth funk, new wave, all late '70s/early '80s -- and filters them through his soft-hearted, mischievous personality. He surrounds himself with a slightly different cast of old and newer associates, including the first three figures listed above, keyboardist Dennis Hamm, drummer Louis Cole, and producer Sounwave. For better and worse, there's a lot of foolishness occurring here. Bruner dreams about being a cat (replete with meowing background melody), pens a tribute to Japanese pop culture ("Just point me to the Pachinko machines"), and delivers a sarcastic jingle regarding social media fatigue ("I'm out here probably doing the most"). At times, the whimsicality sinks into middle school humor ("Captain Stupido") and misogyny ("Friend Zone"). Love and mortality remain Bruner's strongest subjects, placed on full display in terse but touching ballads like "Lava Lamp," "Jethro," and "3AM." In "Show You the Way," another bright spot, he swaps verses with Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, two of his heroes, to swirling and balmy effect. Additional guests Kendrick, Pharrell, and Wiz Khalifa add to the star power, but the main attraction is Bruner's singular combination of tremulous yet fluid bass and aching falsetto." AMG - Andy Kellman more

It Is What It Is
Colored Vinyl - New - BF100X
Sealed 2021 Deluxe Edition Pressing On 140gm Clear Vinyl. Housed In A 6mm Spine Gatefold Sleeve, With Gold-Foil Stamped Writing And Detail. Comes With Obi Style Strip. Custom Gold 2021 Grammy Winner Sticker On Front Shrink. Co-Produced With Flying Lotus. ""It's Been A While, But I'm Down 'til I'm Out And It Is What It Is 'til It Ain't." So Preached Mac Miller On 2018's Swimming. A Month After The Album Was Released, The Beloved Miller Died From An Accidental Overdose, Compelling Thundercat, Bassist And Co-writer On The Quoted Track, To Cope Again With Loss And Mortality As He Made The Follow-up To Drunk. Those Themes Coursed Through Much Of Thundercat's 2010s Work -- Most Perceptibly On Apocalypse, Recorded After The Death Of Another Close Friend And Collaborator, Austin Peralta -- And Continue On His First Lp Of The 2020s, Co-produced By Trusty Partner Flying Lotus. Thundercat Is Most Open On "Fair Chance," Flanked By Fellow Miller Comrades Ty Dolla $ign And Lil B, Grieving In Downcast Falsetto, "So Hard To Get Over It, I've Tried To Get Under It/stuck In Between, It Is What It Is." The Album's Title Is Repeated Across The Variegated Yet Flowing Sequence, Utilized As Either A Mantra Or Verbal Spackle, Always In Tribute. Just As Moving Is Thundercat's Heart-in-throat Salutation In The Closing Title Track, Briefly Stated Just Before His Bass Intertwines With Pedro Martins' Guitar To Gorgeous Effect. As On The Earlier Thundercat Lps, Outer Space And Homeboy Escapades, Comic Courtship And Elusive Companionship, And Philosophical Insights Also Inform The Material. In The Churning "Innerstellar Love," Featuring Kamasi Washington's Blazing Saxophone, Thundercat Croons "Nothing Is Yours, Nothing Is Mine/we All Decay Over Time" Like A Tragic-romantic Roy Ayers. The Surreal Psych-funk Badbadnotgood Meeting "King Of The Hill," Originally A Brainfeeder X Highlight, Falls Snugly Into Place And Functions As A Cautionary Flip Side To The Bobbing "Black Qualls," A Conscientious Ballers' Anthem Graced By Dayton Funk Demigod Steve Arrington. There Are No Throwaways Or Novelty Tunes. The Tender-rocking "Dragonball Durag" Is Full Of Humor But Too Thoughtfully Written And Endearing To Be Disregarded As Either. "How Sway" Is A Warp-speed Instrumental Comprehended Only By Those Who Were Raised On Fusion Records And Japanese Video Games, Yet It's An Ideal Setup For The Whomping Revelry Tale "Funny Thing." Cartoonishly Puttering And Seemingly Off-the-dome, "Miguel's Happy Dance" Provides Heartfelt Solace: "Dancin' Away The Pain, It's Gonna Be All Right." That Might Be The Paramount Message Here." It Is What It Is Review by Andy Kellman. more