Here are two facts about music in the streaming era: 1) People who performatively hate streaming are boring dipshits who are mad other people don't share their fetish for physical media; and 2) having to fit an album onto a physical disc forced artists to have to edit themselves. Unless you were a GOAT-tier artist, it was almost impossible to get a label to okay a double album, and independent artists certainly weren't going to self-finance one.
In the streaming era, editing is for suckers. The more songs an artist packs onto an album, the more profitable it is. Once you've spent the money to record it, there's no reason not to put it on the album. That's why the average Drake record is now roughly the same length as the director's cut of Goodfellas.
What does that long-winded musing have to do with Goodnight Lovell, the third studio album from Ottawa's fastest-rising (and only?) MC Night Lovell? Buried somewhere inside Goodnight Lovell's 18-track album is a really tight eight-song EP, and I wish he'd released that instead.
Goodnight starts out strong as hell. On "Mary Jane" and "Bad Kid," Lovell's gravelly bass vocals sound like a horror demon. The gothic production looms ominously. It's overall pretty badass. The problem is, by about halfway through, the songs kind of start to blend together. By song ten, it becomes clear that there's no second gear. This is it. And holy shit, there is so much more of it to go. The voice that started off as intimidating becomes monotone. The ominous production just starts to feel plodding and same-y. By the end, you're just kind of waiting for it to be over. And yet, you go back, because holy shit those first eight tracks slap.
(Independent)In the streaming era, editing is for suckers. The more songs an artist packs onto an album, the more profitable it is. Once you've spent the money to record it, there's no reason not to put it on the album. That's why the average Drake record is now roughly the same length as the director's cut of Goodfellas.
What does that long-winded musing have to do with Goodnight Lovell, the third studio album from Ottawa's fastest-rising (and only?) MC Night Lovell? Buried somewhere inside Goodnight Lovell's 18-track album is a really tight eight-song EP, and I wish he'd released that instead.
Goodnight starts out strong as hell. On "Mary Jane" and "Bad Kid," Lovell's gravelly bass vocals sound like a horror demon. The gothic production looms ominously. It's overall pretty badass. The problem is, by about halfway through, the songs kind of start to blend together. By song ten, it becomes clear that there's no second gear. This is it. And holy shit, there is so much more of it to go. The voice that started off as intimidating becomes monotone. The ominous production just starts to feel plodding and same-y. By the end, you're just kind of waiting for it to be over. And yet, you go back, because holy shit those first eight tracks slap.