The Album Club: "Drunk" by Thundercat
 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Thundercat.jpg

Although he's not been seen for some time, and this is his first album choice, gonna give Black Francis the benefit of the doubt and feature it before we move on to the next round. Hell, you know what to do by now.

Note: I've added a new mini-matrix to the OP if anyone wants to use it.

Thundercat- Drunk (2017)

Best Tracks: Rabbot Ho/Captain Stupido, Uh Uh, Bus in These Streets, DUI (and most of the other tracks)

Weakest Tracks: Jameel’s Space Ride, Drink Dat


I heard this album when I was doing my top twenty-fives and I remembered liking it a lot, enough that it made my list. It’s like a seventies funk album with some Zappa influences. For the most part, this album would fit in quite well with some of the seventies classics. Even the cover looks like an authentic album that you might have seen on Columbia Records circa 1971. This is arguably, along with Goat, the best album I’ve heard on the Album Club so far.



9/10 (the Word has spoken :D)

I didn’t remember this album until I saw the cover

Somehow it’s been pretty reg on my rotation with me just remembering yeah I like this one with this funkadelic looking covers

Good one groovy

I remember reviewing this on my Albums of 2017 thread and really liking it. I'll listen again and have a proper review (well, a mini-matrix likely) later or tomorrow.

Almost made my top 25 last year. What made it miss out is that I felt it had too many useless incidental tracks between the actual cuts to stack up with my top picks. All that being said, I give Thundercat mad props for reintroducing gods like Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald to mainstream audiences and coming up with an overall atmosphere of proceedings that's intoxicatingly good at times, especially on the monstrously smooth "Show You The Way' and 'Them Changes'. Closing cut 'DUI' is also really beautiful, like a modern R&B interpretation of late 70's Gino Vannelli.

Re-listening through Drunk, I can definitely say for sure that it would be awesome to meet with Thundercat someday. I have a feeling he sails the same kinds of seas I do.

8.5 out of 10

I don't particularly like Loggins or McDonald but I really liked Show Me the Way. There was nothing MOR about it at all. Another reason why I liked this album so much.


And it did make my top twenty-five :)

Some fun and funky tracks, but so much lifelessly mundane and meandering filler throughout this thing. This is the second time I've heard this and I didn't make it to the end because I was tired of eating bland gruel. If there's good **** in the last 4 or 5 songs, let me know. If you want neo-soul that manages to be interesting and emotive (aka soulful), check out Haitus Kaiyote. Leave this garbage in the gutter. Voted disliked it. If I was drunk and at a party I could ignore this easily. Is that supposed to be the point?

I've heard that he's good live and I'm inclined to believe that. Some people just aren't made for albums.

can confirm

Any sort of familiarity with this album/artist, or are both entirely new to you? Yes, I've heard the album before, on my Albums of 2017 thread. Quite liked it, if I remember.
Expectations (if any): I kind of expect to remember how good it was/is
Initial impression: Nice breezy soul feel to this
Favourite track(s): (Note: I'm ignoring any "tracks" of forty seconds or less duration, for either category. Can't judge on so short a listen) “A Fan's Mail”, “Lava Lamp”, “Show Me the Way”, “Jameel's Space Ride”, “Drink Dat”, “Inferno”
Least favourite track(s): “Walk On By”, “Friend Zone”, “When I'm Going”
Overall impression: Perhaps not quite as good as I remember, given that I was coming from a position originally of not knowing anything about the album or artist.
Chances of listening to further material from this artist? Thought it would be quite high but not so bothered now
Rating (not mandatory): 6/10
Comments: Not bad. If I had any complaints it would be that almost all of the songs are too short, some below a minute, which makes it hard to really judge them. You're just getting into something when suddenly it's over. Mind you, there are a lot of tracks (23) so I'm not really sure how I would have dealt with it had all or most of those been three minutes or more. Maybe Thundercat is just giving us exactly as much as we need, utilising that old showbiz maxim: “leave 'em wanting more”! Or, you know, not. Definitely nice to hear the two legends again on “Show Me the Way”, though I could live without Kendrick sticking his face in on “Walk On By”, which sadly, he did not. Got to be honest though: the last few tracks have just kind of walked on by themselves, slipped by more like. No idea what they were. “Jameel's Space Ride” is at least interesting, if very short. The album finishes a little weakly, if I'm honest. Kind of lost interest there towards the end. Definitely too long, a lot of filler.

I saw him live a couple weeks ago and while some if it was good, the guitar noodling is very much not my jam

haven't heard any of his albums in full but his performance didn't instill enough confidence for me to give one a go