You’ll often discover a musician through other musicians. You don't just stumble upon Stanley Clarke, you find him via Jaco Pastorius, who you come to through Weather Report, and so on. Many will have discovered Thundercat through his work with Herbie Hancock, Kamasi Washington or Flying Lotus or, more likely, his recordings with Kendrick Lamar.
Thus, a relationship with an artist is often coloured by the journey to find them. And, when you arrive, what you find might be quite different from what you expected. Which brings us to 'Drunk', Thundercat’s third album and a 23-track freeform binge that feels a bit like a Frank Zappa version of Lamar's 2012 concept album 'good kid, m.A.A.d city'.
On ‘Drunk’, ditties and sketches interlock with longer jazz compositions while falsetto observations provide a commentary over bass-led grooves. It’s an album of insouciant complexity that demonstrates a taste for abject silliness alongside a mastery of lighthearted vocal blends.
Walk On By features Lamar in lounge jazz mode, with a cruise ship drum machine accompanying watery tremolo guitar. Like much of the album, this track has soulful vocal harmonies that form a sort of sonic cloud just above the instruments. The effect is a softening of the emotional demand that provides a breezy adornment to frequently acute chord changes.
A similarly lighthearted collab comes on lead single Let Me Show You The Way, which features the dual talents of ‘70s yacht-rockers Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. The song is led by a phaser Rhodes piano riff, which delivers a jocular, tacky vibe. The cheapness of ‘Drunk’ is a big part of the sound - it adds to the fun - but it’s occasionally problematic. The cut 'n' paste production suggests people may not have been in the studio at the same time, which shouldn't matter, but does.
Thundercat is a musician’s musician, and as such his auteur touch is everywhere on this album. So is his precocious approach to chords, vocals, lyrics and production. When the music has a logic to its silliness - like on the brilliant first three tracks (which appear to work as a triptych) - it is arresting stuff. It’s music that lifts you up and makes you think about your problems in a different way. But when it underwhelms, on Tokyo and Drink Dat (which features a fairly useless turn from Wiz Khalifa), it sounds like music you put on at a dinner party to impress people.
Actually, the album's inconsistency is probably in its design. It's not really a fault in the execution. It's meant to be daft, fun and occasionally brilliant. Put another way, 'Drunk' is like a 3AM partygoer who might say something utterly profound, or slur unintelligible bullshit. Which will it be? Don't you want to know?
Thundercat Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows;
Wed March 22 2017 - BRISTOL Thekla
Thu March 23 2017 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Fri March 24 2017 - LIVERPOOL Invisible Wind Factory
Tue March 28 2017 - LONDON Heaven
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