Album Review // Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, & SURF GANG POMPEII // UTILITY
4.5/5 stars
Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE are not experimental rappers, and despite what fellow rapper/one-sided beef-starter JPEGMAFIA might have you believe, they don't claim to be. They are, however, evolving rappers. From Earl's mid-2010s output to 2019's Some Rap Songs and recent collaborations with The Alchemist, Earl has lived in a number of subgenres over the past 15 years, most recently arriving at "ambient plugg" with friend and peer MIKE. On their unwieldy double-album with production team SURF GANG, the rappers consciously mumble their way through a series of uneasy, surreal, and consistently fascinating beats. If it all sounds a bit strange, it is – but in a way that scratches a very specific itch. The rappers clearly influence each other, with Earl adopting MIKE's shamelessly lackadaisical flow and the pair featuring on each other's halves of the record. But the most interesting highlight of POMPEII // UTILITY is the completely unique production from SURF GANG, adding glitchy textures to trap and cloud rap beats that make both halves of the project feel like a cohesive whole. POMPEII // UTILITY is not a rap album for everyone, but for those willing to put in the time, it's an incredibly rewarding experience.
