Atrocity Exhibition - Danny Brown - Album Review
- Juan Hernandez
- Aug 20, 2017
- 4 min read
Atrocity Exhibition challenges it's audience with a razor edge sound that finds Danny Brown at his most compelling and ambitious yet. If fans of Old were expecting something more contemporary, then they should expect this as even more humorously grotesque than XXX.
I don't think I've ever heard Danny Brown deliver a boring performance. Whenever Danny Brown appears as a featured artist on someone else's project, I can always expect a large amount of energy, rapid fire flow, and an easily identifiable high pitched voice. With that said, Danny Brown slaps everyone in the face with the creative direction of the album, not only does it ditch the sound of Old, but he completely makes a new sound for himself again. Danny Brown may have ditched his party sound from 2013, but his lyrics are still filled with the same comedy and energy that he's always been known for. More so I was thrilled to discover that he named the album after a Joy Division track, but at the same time I knew he was gonna shoot for something more dark and grand.
Before the album goes into a frenzy mode, The first track "Downward Spiral" sets out the dark flavor of the album. The track contains the common themes that Danny has discussed in his music from XXX, bad hangovers, drug raves, and suicidal thoughts. The only time Danny Brown ever uses his calm voice is on the second track, "Tell Me What I Don't Know". The songwriting of the track is superb, not only does Danny write about how he's lost friends to gang violence while in the streets of Detroit, but he somehow shows us his vulnerability as well. The beautiful bass line that's used in "Rolling Stone" makes the track feel laid back while the lyrics suggest living the lifestyle of a rockstar, full of drugs, sex, and bad judgement calls. I know that "Really Doe" is one of the more popular cuts from the album simply because Kendrick is featured there. Personally I did not find his guest verse to be the most amusing, Earl Sweatshirt and Danny Brown delivered the best lines from the track and both were on par with each other. Don't get me wrong the Black Hippy members both deliver amazing performances, but it's gratifying to find others outdo them too. Things turn utterly weird on "Lost" were this looping outlandish voice pops in throughout the track. The track is one of the more haunting cuts that manages to feel different when compared to the sound of the record.
Once the album progresses and finally gets to "Ain't It Funny", that's where things get from dark and depressing, to dark and psychotic. The sample used for the song really doesn't feel appropriate for a beat, however Danny Brown manages to pull it off with perfect pacing and a vibrant sense of energy, even when the song describes his demons. At this point everything about the album sounds astonishing and refining, but then next two tracks just slow down the pace of pure genius. Both "Golddust" and "White Lines" aren't necessarily awful tracks, they just feel bland in comparison to the other tracks that provide memorable moments. The momentum of the album returns with "Pneumonia", the eerie bells provides one of the more braggadocious moments that Danny delivers, along with the lines "Made 30 bands in 30 minutes, before I count it, I done damn near spent it/Put a brick on ya in some Rick Owens, flow sick, nigga, call it pneumonia, I'm on ya". A comedic and chiseling atmosphere appears on "Dance In The Water", the track has a marching opener that immediately grabs ones attention.
One of the more electronic and wonky sounding tracks off the album, "When It Rain" displays Danny Browns versatility at best. Not only does the track have sample that was used in Freddie Gibbs song, but he manages to turn the song into an attack of lyrical ability "Y'all niggas lame, y'all ain't like us/Hanging with the devil off angel dust, for that money, in God we trust/All fall victim for greed and lust, who you 'pose to trust when guns gone bust?". The quick and and rapid fire of his delivery simply displays why Danny Brown has been a force within the underground scene. The album finally slows down the last three tracks that appear on the album. All of the three, "Today", Get Hi", and "Hell For It" display Danny's distinctive voice, the tracks however take a much slower pace. The fuzz filled electronic sound of "Today" haunts ears, and on the track Danny delivers a homage to OutKast with lines from their 2000 hit, "B.O.B", "Cure for cancer, cure for A.I.D.S/Make a nigga wanna stay on tour for days". For me the album starts falling apart near the ending. I enjoyed "Get Hi", but I was expecting a larger sense of resolution for the album. Don't get this confused, "Hell For It" is a triumphant song that see's Danny's undeniable resilience to continue fighting his addictions, however it does not have the energy that I was expecting to find.
Danny continues to impress, not only because of his wordplay, but because of the surprising direction he took with the album. If you were a fan of XXX, and were hoping that one day Danny Brown would go back to much to the darker themes of the album, then this record might give you the knacks you were hoping for. The album finds Danny at his most lyrical and fragile, making it hard to listen to not only because of the underlying themes, but because of the frenzied production.
Atrocity Exhibition
Released: 2016
Favorite Tracks: Tell Me What I Don't Know, Rolling Stone, Really Doe, Lost, Ain't It Funny, Pneumonia, Dance In The Water, When It Rain, Today, Get Hi
Worst Track: From The Ground,
7.5/10
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