Thundercat - It Is What It Is

  by Zena Grieg

published: 27 / 5 / 2020

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The American musician and singer-songwriter Stephen Lee Bruner, known as Thundercat, has released his fourth solo studio album, ‘It Is What It Is.’ First coming to prominence as a member of the crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, he is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed 2015 album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ for which he won a Grammy for his collaboration on ‘These Walls.’ This new album from Thundercat counterbalances levity and sadness. It is “about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,” Bruner says. Thundercat shows his considerable musical prowess as a brilliant bassist and incisive lyricist in this exuberant collection, which is clearly influenced by the jazz-rock style of the Doobie Brothers and the funky sound of George Clinton. The album moves easily from an energetic bass workout in ‘How Sway’ through funky synth-pop in ‘Funny Thing’ to breezy soul in ‘Overseas’ and jazz fusion in ‘Interstellar Love’ with its intricate Kamasi Washington sax solo. In an album heavily influenced by existentialism, standout tracks are the single ‘Black Quails’ with its anxiety-tinged lyrics on being black and successful; the playful ‘Dragonball Durag’, partly inspired by his pet cat, with its singular chat-up line “I may be covered in cat hair but I still smell good”; the 52-second ‘Existential Dread’ with its insistence “But I’ll be alright as long as I keep breathin’/I know I’ll be alright”. Also impressive were ‘Fair Chance,’ and the title track ‘It Is What It Is’. There are touching tributes to Bruner’s late friend Mac Miller, featuring delicate piano and gentle guitar plucking. These are reflective songs, evoking a whole range of emotion, ultimately ending with the title track in an acceptance of reality on a sombre yet hopeful note.

Track Listing:-

1 Lost In Space / Great Scott / 22-26
2 Innerstellar Love
3 I Love Louis Cole (feat. Louis Cole)
4 Black Qualls
5 Miguel's Happy Dance
6 How Sway
7 Funny Thing
8 Overseas (feat. Zack Fox)
9 Dragonball Durag
10 How I Feel
11 King of the Hill
12 Unrequited Love
13 Fair Chance (feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B)
14 Existential Dread
15 It Is What It Is

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