Amalgam – Climb
People in 2021 could not stop clamouring about Injury Reserve’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix; an album I otherwise thought was underwhelming. While I respected the delirious soundscapes and off-beat percussion, I felt a lack of precision in the execution and songwriting. It’s without a doubt in my mind that the underground mixtape Climb by Amalgam executed the same experimental hip-hop expression with far more flair. Released on April 15th, 2022, the album was a phenomenal debut.
Picking a favourite track on the album is difficult, and the more people I ask, the more variation in responses I receive. Nonetheless, the album impresses immediately with the opener Lost, which opens the album with a maniacal soundscape, complemented by demented beats and unpredictable-yet-brilliant vocal placements. Look So Good blends Massive Attacks’ trip-hop framework with a Jamaican-flavoured chorus and a heavy hitting verse. Sorry I Stole Your Phone But If You Wanna Fite is both funny and head-banging in the same vein of Mike Patton. Peak writing can be observed on Bolgias; a track that detours appropriately to maximise tension and hit hard. It may be a little too long, though the closer Heart Strings features a chorus so fresh it mostly maintains enjoyable throughout.
The greatest element to Climb, however, are the instrumentals themselves, accentuated by the brilliant production. While poppy elements glide in-and-out, the album hardly relies on repetition to progress. Each track has its own unique direction that it goes in. Suffice to say, the songs with the least number of instrumentals, or the least progressive, are the weakest. Disrespectful’s accompanying instrumentals, for instance are repetitive and not as thoughtful as the surrounding tracks. Secondly, Ready is really boring; it sounds like a dull Frank Ocean song with more bass; saved only by the tremendous instrumental outro. Both these tracks in succession are filler, though easily forgivable since the front and rear ends of the album are phenomenal.
There seem to be quite a handful of vocalists throughout Climb, though all of them delivery equally. Whether it’s the demented screaming in the first half of Bolgias, or the two rappers exchanging on So High, there’s an impressive amount of range. It’s a shame the artist has gone down the anonymous route; I’m unsure who to give credit to; credit various vocalists truly deserve. Nonetheless, the selection of rappers are impeccable, and all complement each other wonderfully. I can only hope on the next Amalgam project the instrumentals are fleshed out further. The writers are clearly adept at musical theory; here’s hoping they can flex more on their next release.
Awesome
Listen to it here:
Amalgam – Climb
