Released:
Rating: ★★★
Duckwrth’s debut was titled ‘I’m Uugly’ and the follow-up mixtape was called ‘An Xtra Uugly Mixtape’, so ‘SuperGood’, his second studio album, is a break with tradition right off the bat. The switch in naming protocol signals more than just newfound self-confidence, though. ‘Supergood’ is his most complete project to date, with each track fitting so perfectly with the next that it’d be easy to believe they were all recorded on the same day. The album also sees him fully commit to the funk-inflected hip-hop sound he’s been cultivating since he first started making music – It’s the approach of someone who’s comfortable with what they’re doing and completely sure of what they want the finished product to sound like.
The overriding theme is one of an eternal hazy summer afternoon, with Duckwrth’s native LA weather bleeding through the whole album as funky production pushes him on from track to track. The downside of this is that there aren’t too many standout singles, with the project lending itself much better to just hitting play and enjoying the mood, rather than killer tracks which stick in your head immediately. There are definitely catchy hooks on here, with lead single ‘Getting Closer’ and mid-album track ‘Did U Notice’ being the most obvious, but they’re not the point of the album, just little added bonuses sprinkled throughout.
If you go into ‘SuperGood’ looking for a huge variety of songs or one stand-out banger, you’ll be disappointed. If you think of it more as a mood board, you’ll find yourself listening to a perfectly curated ‘Chilled Out Summer Hip-Hop’ playlist, just one that happens to have all been made by the same artist.
Jake Hawkes
