As a music fan I’m always one to respect bold risks from artists and experimenting with other genres. For example, “Awaken, My Love” is my favorite Childish Gambino album and one of the best albums of that year. I bring this up because it is not the genre change that leads Logic’s latest album “Supermarket” to be an awful project.
This is where I should say the sound of this album was inspired by the likes of popular rock acts like Mac DeMarco, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead. Instead, I’ll say that the album is a derivative of those things.
There is nothing wrong with being inspired by other artists, but a lot of times these songs feel like straight rip- offs.
Songs like “Time Machine” and “Lemon Drop” sound like Red Hot Chili Peppers’ songs from a variety of the band’s eras. Some out of place decent tracks are songs like “Can I Kick It” and “Vacation From Myself” that seem to cop more from Anderson Paak more than anything else.
Logic’s singing voice, used sparingly, can be quite wonderful to listen to, but under such strain and heavy use it is apparent that Logic isn’t a strong enough singer to hold a whole song together.
Instrumentation is often at its most basic form, such as the acoustic guitar on the opener “Bohemian Trapsody” which sounds as simple as guitar licks can get.
The only moments of the album that cross from bad to listenable are the sections where Logic does rap, something he absolutely has talent at. However, the rap verses often feel out of time with the rest of the track and as a result feel jarring and most often underwritten.
The writing is the worst issue on this entire album. With lines like “there are many fish in the sea but you’re the only one God made for me” or “I feel like I’m in a romantic movie, but I’m an extra wanting the leading lady,” I might believe you if you told me a 15-year-old boy wrote this.
When the album isn’t being childish and immature, it’s saccharine. The only thing separating some of these tracks from Disney radio is a few select swear words and one really cheesy Rick and Morty reference.
Throughout the multiple listens I do for a review, I found myself disliking this album more and more. How little substance existed in it and how much of it doesn’t mean anything or makes me wince at the mere memory of listening to it again.
I can’t even, in good faith, recommend this to Logic fans unless you are a diehard listener and love everything he does. If you are that person, you don’t need me to tell you to go listen to this.
However, whether you’re a fan of rap, rock or Logic himself, this musical detour has led Logic to a dead end in a dark alley. One can only hope that he never goes down such a road ever again.