One result of the switch from physical units to digital downloads has been variation in album release schedules. Records no longer rely on physical distribution and as such can arrive with little or no fanfare. The watershed in this cultural shift was probably Beyoncé’s 2013 eponymous album, which arrived by surprise after a recording process shrouded in secrecy.
Artists like Future - whose sixth solo album, ‘HNDRXX’, has dropped just one week after his previous (eponymous) one - have gone on record to promote this change. The suggestion is that in the never ending circus of music industry hype, unorthodox releases give an artist greater control over how their work is appreciated and understood.
The result, in the case of ‘HNDRXX’, is a more radio friendly album to the record he had previously been promoting. So, fans who prefer a commercial sound will only have been disappointed for a week.
‘HNDRXX’ certainly is more accessible. The hard-edged underground vibe of 'Future' has been eschewed for something more relatable, with easily bleeped swears, A-List collabs (the Weeknd and Rihanna) and a varied emotional spectrum that pushes towards trap's outer limits.
That said, we do start in familiar, hateful territory. The line “even if I hit you once, you part of my collection” on album opener My Collection may - at a push - be sung with post-irony by Future...at a push. It will not be sung with satire in mind at gigs and in nightclubs by fans. Turn on Me, meanwhile, is another scummy track. “Money over bitches, that's first,” Future slurs, which is then combined with a suitably contemptible musical choice: MIDI brass.
Future is, nonetheless, a far more capable poet than many of his peers, and the rest of the album demonstrates the fact. Tracks like Use Me (“When you get high enough you can dodge raindrops, but tell yo mama and pop that you in the game now.”) and Incredible (“I was having trust issues, but I’ve been having way better luck since you.”) show a broader, more romantic sensibility. The latter song, too, is a sparse trap ballad only bettered by Selfish.
On that track - the aforementioned Rihanna feature - you get a song of wonderful duality, with some nice inflections of British producers like Jamie xx or James Blake. It's the most sophisticated this album gets, and while Future's obsession with over producing vocals (anything that breathes gets auto-tuned) detracts from the brilliance of Rihanna's voice, it does give the song a distinctive Future signature: it's Future feat. Rihanna as opposed to the other way round.
‘HNDRXX’ is a well produced album by one of the most talented trap artists around. It's also a very welcome surprise. But it still doesn't really escape the most obvious limitations; namely that the genre is too repetitive and cheap, both thematically and musically.
When genuine tonal shifts come, they are parachuted in through those (expensive) collaborations. That wouldn't be a problem if they were consistent throughout the album, but Future's people only appeared to have stumped up the cash for two. Recording and putting out two albums in quick succession might make more economic sense, but the result here is some superb moments in a stew of mediocrity. Less is often more.
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