CD Review // Thundercat

Drunk (Brainfeeder Records)

Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, released his fourth studio album Drunk on Feb. 24.

When listening to the album, it feels like the listener is falling into a trippy vortex of cats and weed. The whisking instrumentation slips in and out of the ordinary, but listeners are drawn into Thundercat’s irregular reality.

There is no doubt that Thundercat is talented. The album is a mixture of soft tunes and mind-bending tracks, but Drunk, at times, is incredibly indistinguishable. The instrumentals in the tracks are similar from start to finish, and the listener is often lost to where one song ends and another begins—all without a stable melody to hold onto.

The album features Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, and many others. However quirky this group of featured musicians might seem—based on their pop songs promoted via mainstream radio—it’s jarring to hear them in Thundercat’s jazzy concoction.

“Captain Stupido” might be one of the most bizarre tracks because of frequent lyrical non-sequiturs like: “Jesus take the wheel.” The track is musically busy, with a killer guitar riff and head bopping drum beat.

Drunk is probably what Thundercat was when recording this album. If one is in wanderlust and wants to be transported into a similar inebriated jazz-odyssey, take a spin on Drunk.