Brent Faiyaz

Lost

BY Matt BauerPublished Oct 17, 2018

7
Brent Faiyaz's second solo EP opens with police sirens, helicopters and the frenzied steps of a breathless runner about to collapse. It's a nightmarish sonic cauldron of an all-too-real and horrific reality that's been going on too damn long.
 
And when Faiyaz sings, "Don't test their bullets might press / Why they want to see me dead, I ain't even grown yet" on "Why'z It So Hard," it's the most chilling and weary vocal that the Baltimore-bred 23-year-old has given thus far.
 
While the remaining five cuts on Lost don't reach that resonance, they chart Fiayaz's continuingly evocative and intimate songwriting. The stark chill of "Trust" is a poignant admission of loneliness that, halfway through, turns into a candid street corner  conversation between Faiyaz and a homeboy, while the plaintive "Came Right Back" is a vivid snapshot of heartbreak.
 
Lost closes with "Target On My Chest" which is equal parts edgy swagger and earnest soul-baring. Lost should hold listeners over until Brent Faiyaz's sophomore full-length.
(Independent)

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