★★★★☆
A lot has happened to Travis Scott in the five years since he released Astroworld. He’s had two children with one of the world’s most famous women, cemented his status as one of this generation’s biggest musicians, and been at the tragic centre of the Astroworld festival incident, where ten people died in a crowd surge. Somewhat forgotten, among the tragic and tabloid noise that’s engulfed him, has been Scott’s position as psychedelic rap’s biggest star.
It’s a title he reaffirms with Utopia, far and away his best release to date.
It is vast record. In the otherworldly soundscapes that Scott and his team of A-list producers create; in the scope and ambition of the record; in the supporting cast that Scott enlists to feature on the album; in its accompanying cinematic offering; and also simply in its extensive 75-minute run time.
The grungier nature of the record is clear from the brilliant album opener, ‘Hyaena’. A distorted, jagged voice almost chants “It can change, it can stay the same” as it opens. It’s a bit of a shock, certainly not how you imagine the return of Travis Scott, but the chant soon fades and Scott comes in with a pair of lively, high-quality verses of his own.
‘My Eyes’ is another stand-out track which comes in early. There’s a definite James Blake feel to the tune, but it is actually British vocalist Sampha who lends his wonderful voice to the first half of the song, with Blake’s vocal and production credits all reserved for the latter part of Utopia. The final minute of ‘My Eyes’ is populated with a dense, rapid-fire Scott verse that contradicts and compliments the Sampha feature.
‘God’s Country’ pulls to-and-fro, making for almost uncomfortable listening, while ‘Sirens’ has a sound reminiscent of Kanye West in recent years, post-Pablo – with bravado, discontent and shock factor in sound. West was also involved in the making of Utopia, but is not credited on ‘Sirens’.
The Beyoncé and Bon Iver-featuring single ‘Delresto (Echoes)’ – the most star-studded moment on a star-studded record – flows brilliantly into ‘I Know’, another of the standout tunes on Utopia. It is paced to perfection, Scott’s apathy in the choruses contrasting the intensity of the album and serving as something of an interlude ahead of ‘Topia Twins’, with 21 Savage.
Big names keep coming. He’s got The Weeknd on ‘Circus Maximus’, a song driven largely by a classic Abel Tesfaye pop beat, but also with a huskier, almost Popsmoke-esque quality to Scott’s own work on the song.
Yung Lean and Dave Chapelle contribute to the beautiful ‘Parasail’, perhaps the closest the album comes to helplessness rather than rage. Westside Gunn’s trademark ad-libs fuse with Scott’s own on ‘Lost Forever’, another tune that jumps around and seemingly shouldn’t work, but does. Pharrell Williams, Kid Cudi, Future and SZA all appear towards the end of the album – the latter two starring on ‘Telekinesis’ – as the who’s who of the music world continues, Utopia just getting better and better as it approaches its climax.
The outro to ‘Sirens’ is perhaps the most revealing glimpse into what Utopia actually, conceptually, is.
“I thought we were going to utopia?” a woman asks, sounding irritated.
“What makes you say this isn’t utopia?” Scott counters.
“I mean…I don’t know. Isn’t it supposed to be some perfect destination? This is just your hotel room.”
“Yeah…” Scott replies, disinterested. “It looks perfect to me.”
Because this album is not, by any means, a happy place. It’s not melancholy or sad, but it is decidedly uneasy. Considering the euphoria Scott has conveyed before, you could imagine him making a sunshine-soaked psychedelic journey, rather than the nighttime acid-trip Scott is leading us on.
And yet while you don’t know where you’re going, and are introduced to so many people along this journey that it’s hard to keep up, Scott is capable of not only navigating through these murky waters, but making sure you actually have a great time. A supreme effort.
Utopia is available to stream now.
