So I have a special place in my heart for the heartland's own Coolzey. I contributed to his Patreon back when he was doing monthly songs (and got a DOPE mixtape for it, keep an eye out for XOZ some day soon), and I've been following his career since the release of Coolzey & the Search for the Hip Hop Hearts. His garage rock influenced rap is something fairly novel in the scene these days, nowhere is there a rapper as dedicated to honoring the grunge movement of the early 90's (and no, Kid Cudi's atrocious waste of soundwaves Speeding Bullet to Heaven does not count). Add to that a cynical and irreverent sense of humor and a willingness to not take himself in any way seriously makes for some truly entertaining music. And what is the purpose of music but to entertain us?
That's not to say his music is without substance, all raw hotdogs aside. Coolzey has opinions about the state of our world, and with a name like Fight the American Celebrity Machine you can bet his new album is going to offer these up, over lounge and garage rock beats. Sounds interesting right? Let's take a look! This is going to be a live review, I don't have much time this week but I figured I'd take a quick look at this one.
Fight the American Celebrity Machine opens with something pretty out there. The autotuned "Beat House" is a sort of clubby electronic interlude, hard to really understand what it's purpose is. To be honest it didn't make me too excited for the album. However, the next track "Human Centipede" was all I expected and more, and with a title that still invokes that special cringe factor in many of us, it's definitely going to grab the attention. Almost a boom bap flavor as Coolzey uses the metaphor of the human centipede to describe how the voyeur culture leads us around by the nose, with it's asshole. Subtle but true.
"Heteronormative Cisgender Lover" is a great example of Coolzey's special use of irony and humor to convey messages. Over a track reminiscent of what your grandparents danced to, Coolzey describes the process of coming out in the new millennium, flipping the labels using the most complicated possible to describe the "norm". The juxtaposition of retro lounge music and the convoluted sexual terms that on close examination prove essentially meaningless is particularly effective and amusing. Not as fantastic as a song as it is a joke, but funny and intelligent and heartfelt.
"Three Cheers for Everyone" is a look at the assholes you meet at shows, specifically the fronts that everyone displays. Funky track and clever sing song raps, some cool guitar work as well. "My Wu Tang Style" with Bru Lei is a sort of braggadocio nod to Wu Tang, complete with the hokey punch effects and samurai drops. Super weird but pretty dope.
"Please Take Me With You" is a melancholy nostalgic track about running into an old lover at the airport. It features a great rap verse from Coolzey about making mistakes with the perfect partners which is what mostly saves the song, as the singing is good but not notable. It is a touching and personal moment on a record that up to now hasn't bothered with anything too emotional though and the whole thing is nice.
"I Don't Want to Fly" may be my second favorite track so far after "Human Centipede". An insanely catchy hook caps off the silly verses about the dangers of big ambition, while the chorus expresses not wanting to put oneself out there for fear of the risk, and slowly decomposing without accomplishing anything of note. Sounds depressing, but in classic Coolzey "We're All Gonna Die" style, it isn't. It's also hard to describe coherently, and may just be a few weird stories and a cool sounding hook. For the punk fans out there it also features vocals by Joe Jack Talcum of the Dead Milkmen!
And finally the closing track "Delusional Comforter (Back Again)", full of subtle and not so subtle meditations on self pity. Very dope production, some clever turns of phrases, and a nice end to the album.
So overall I have to say Fight the American Celebrity Machine is not my favorite Coolzey album. It's a bit heavy on the lounge, a bit light on the rock and a tiny bit too weird. I know from past work that Coolzey is a gifted musician and a lyricist who is completely willing to break all the rules of conventional rap (Trylemma, you got any terms for his style? My head is still spinning over your description of Cee!!!!!!!'s poetry) and that is evident here as well, but in a few cases I think less attention is paid to the presentation than to whatever the message is supposed to be which does the whole package a bit of a disservice.
Anyway it's personal preference but I loved the grittier garage style found on Coolzey & the God Damned Friend Killers over the sleepy lounge vibe that most of these songs are working with. That said this album does have it's moments, and it will absolutely keep you entertained from start to finish. I just can't say for sure it has much in the way of replay value save a track or two, but I really need to absorb it as a listener versus a reviewer to know for sure.
Get Coolzey's newest collection of lounge comedy rap, Fight the American Celebrity Machine here on physical or digital here for as low as the unlikely price of $8.07.
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