Hi, everyone. Newthony Onestano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new $uicideboys$ album, New World Depression.

Yeah, here is the newest full-length LP official, fourth full-length album from New Orleans hip hop duo $uicideboys$, which of course features Scrim as well as Ruby De Cherry, who may not be some of the most widely discussed or viral artists in the rap genre, but they're still an important and vital success story when it comes to the internet rap boom of the 2010s, especially in regards to the SoundCloud-based leg of it, which to do an in-depth analysis on that in this video would take forever. But just know that during this time, you had numerous trends in the rap sphere, all coalescing, some of which were new, others were more revivalist in nature. And on their earliest mixtapes and EPs, $uicideboys$ were definitely more on the revival side of things, bringing back this slow, lazy, chill, grim style of Southern hip hop with a splash of horror core. Very, very, very indebted to artists like Three Six Mafia, as well as Midwest legends like Bone Thugs and Harmony with all the melodic triplet flows.

And while $uicideboys$ were not the only artist bringing this sound back in the early and mid-2010s, they've certainly proven themselves to be the most devoted to that sound over the years, as a lot of artists who were blowing up off of it early on have since washed out with the trendy tides or have moved on to other things.

But here, $uicideboys$, with this ever-growing run of very prolifically released projects and singles, much of which points in that stylistic direction. And that level of just unbroken consistency has its its pros and its cons. Some might say the duo is creatively stagnant at this point, but you can't really deny that what they're doing is still working for them. As a duo, they've pretty much been independent for over a decade now, and their records continue to do big numbers. I mean, this LP here was one of the biggest releases of the week, netting tens of thousands of sales, which is pretty surprising for a group that is not on a label. $uicideboys$ also continue to sport millions and millions millions of monthly listeners across all streaming platforms, with their past three official albums all being RIAA certified gold.

It looks like this new one here is going to hit a similar peak, too, at some point. That's surprising, considering that this record is just 13 tracks and 34 minutes in length. You can't really accuse the duo of overpacking this album or doing any stream trolling or any industry trickery to force more engagement. I mean, while there are a fair amount of shorter tracks on this record, that's also how the duo has been doing their stuff for a long time, even when you go back to their early SoundCloud stuff. So, yeah, you may not like what they do, but $uicideboys$ are still doing massive numbers to this day, while simultaneously doing pretty much nothing to make their sound and their image more commercially appealing or watered down.

I mean, in their very lyrics, the duo frequently flexes the fact that they rarely do photos or music videos. And I mean, honestly, this consistency, this adherence to an artistic vision and seeing an artist do well at that, it's the success story you want to see in the music industry on a more regular basis. So on all of those fronts, I can most definitely commend $uicideboys$ for what they do, even if I'm not a fan.

I mean, I know that some of their fans have not been happy with my takes on their music in the past, which is also true to an extent of the duo itself. But I mean, know that the criticisms I have don't come from a place of personal disrespect or hatred. Because again, even if I'm not massively into the music these guys record, I'm still surprised and still impressed at the brand and the livelihood they've been able to build with it. It's because of these things when I usually go a $uicideboys$ album, I want to hear good things. I want to hear stuff that appeals to me. But honestly, after listening to this new record multiple times over, it pretty much just feels like business as usual, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on where you sit.

The production across this thing features a lot of very straightforward groups with a throwback Southern feel, very low key. At some points, I've picked up that the production is a little improved in terms of bringing samples and synths and atmospheres that a tad bit slicker, softer, prettier, which is great. But on the songwriting front, the duo is pretty much doing their usual thing.

The structures, the cohesion, the focus is all quite sketchy. A lot of tracks are just very scant and short-winded. It doesn't even really matter if they hit the two-minute mark, which at this point is just regular $uicideboys$ fair. They also continue their aversion, for the most part, to big, memorable anthemic choruses. It's almost like they're trying to avoid being catchy and would rather present themselves in a way that is just obscured, hazy, dodgy. The vocals and flows across the record are given a similar treatment as well. It's like if you took the adlib vocal from a track and just made that the lead vocal instead. So it's there, but it's not super clear or present or in your face. And as a result, the energy, the enjoyability factor of these tracks - it's more about the cold-blooded vibes than it is about eating up every lyric or every detail on the beat, which certainly makes $uicideboys$ music on this record listenable, overtly eerie.

Lyrically, there are also some bold old illusions to depression, drugs, money, guns, sex, being white trash, and murder as well, but in a creepy stalker serial killer way. And while these themes are certainly there, none of them are expanded upon to the point where the duo is really making any definitive statements on them.

And looking at some of the deep cuts on this record, I could see why the duo continues to keep things a little surface level, especially with the track "Transgressions". This is really the first attempt on the record to my ears at delivering a vocal and a few verses that feel genuinely anguished and lyrically focused. But the end result is a performance where the flows feel really awkward and And you also get bars like this that are just head scratchers.

I will say this, though: the track "The Light at the End of the Tunnel" is actually a sad, harrowing and powerful bit of commentary on addiction and chasing after highs. And the "Drag 'Em to the River" remix on the back end of this thing does sound hard as hell. Plus the melodic vocal lines on "Are You Going to See the Rose in the Vase?" They are legitimately catchy ("Reaching up for help!") in a way that makes me wish that the duo engaged in this song structuring a bit more, especially given the lyrical focus on the track, too. This is the duo reflecting on moments in the past, dealing with this general inability to operate within romantic relationships, and just general really feeling like you are in a rut in life.

The final moments of this record, though, are not super memorable or impressive. There's "Us v Them", which sounds like what $uicideboys$ would do if they were trying to make a Griselda track with the big boom bap beats and the odd piano lines, but I'm not sure it's quite their style. Then the closing track, while it does have some soaring vocal lines here and there, it just feels like very standard stylistically for $uicideboys$. Kind of an attempt at ending things off in a big or ambitious way, but it doesn't go quite far enough.

It's with that, I just have to say this very short and to the point record from $uicideboys$... is just okay. It's fine. It's listenable in the grander scheme of their catalog, considering how much music they've made that sounds a lot like this, it doesn't really add that much. But clearly, the duo has a relationship with their fan base. They're very strong and passionate fan base at this point, that pretty much does nothing other than just demand more of the same from them, which, I mean, if ultimately that's what they want to hear and that's what they want to get and the boys are happy to give it to them, then I guess why not?

I'm certainly not going to say the duo's music is lacking completely in substance or is just meaningless. There is something there in terms of emotion and depth. $uicideboys$ most definitely have a sound, a vibe, and appeal. But when I actually go to listen to their records, I just find myself wanting more, wanting more detail out of the beats, wanting more variation and diversity across the record, wanting more structure, more length, more ambition.

But you know what? They still have a distinct sound, and if that's the vibe and that's the energy that you're looking for, this record is going to deliver it to you. No more, no less.

I'm feeling a strong 5 to a light 6 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, $uicideboys$, Forever.