Earl Sweatshirt - FEET OF CLAY (Deluxe) (Review)
Earl Sweatshirt - FEET OF CLAY (Deluxe) (Review)
8/1/20
DISCLAIMER: Sorry if you're seeing this late, it had trouble posting last night and I didn't realize until now. I also forgot to promote it on the Instagram story, sorry.
Normally, I wouldn't review albums and EPs nine months after they release. Though, thanks to the "Deluxe" album that seems to be returning to the mainstream in these past couple years, I get to review Earl Sweatshirt's latest album. Some might simply review the last two tracks that were added to the deluxe edition as exclusives, but I have had strong opinions on this album ever since it launched. I haven't had a medium to express these opinions until now, so I'm very happy I have an excuse. This review also gets a little more track-by-track than my others, but I'll try to focus on the main album and discuss the tracks to support my opinions.
Earl Sweatshirt's "FEET OF CLAY" was never, and is still not, a bad album. Critics like Anthony Fantano gave this album a five, mostly in part due to its sloppy production. He said it brought out what was bad in Earl's latest record in this style "Some Rap Songs". He still gave it a five, though, because he realized that where the production failed, the songwriting and vocal performances delivered. I agree with this to an extent. The main argument against his review is that the lo-fi and scratchy sound of the EP was intentional. It was meant to bring out a certain sadness in Earl's voice. The songs are also very short, but this allowed them to portray an important message in only a minute or two. Whether the production sounded amazing or not, the album is still very stylistically defined.
Another one of people's criticisms about this album is the track "EAST". At first, this track was the only real thing that turned me off from the album, but when I actually listened to it a few times, it started to grow on me. When it released, it became something of a small meme. Some people called this track lazy because of Earl's lackluster delivery and the track only using a two-chord sample with no drums or bass. The reason I like this track is that you understand the purposes of its flaws when you dive into Earl's deep and personal lyrics. It became sort of a beautiful ballad that later felt so misunderstood. This is the same feeling I have more most of the other songs on this album. Beautiful masterpieces misunderstood that turn people off by their style. It makes sense if you don't like the music on this EP, but everyone should at least appreciate it.
It has to be clear, however, that this album is not perfect. Some of the songs do feel lazy and somewhat uninspired. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the last three tracks on the "Deluxe" edition. "4N" is interesting, but that strange production gets very boring after five minutes with its only purpose being to end the album in an artistically diverse and strange way. I'm also not a big fan of "GHOST", because Earl's lyrics feel pretty generic, and his flows feel slow. Navy Blue's verse isn't terrible, though. Then there's the track "WHOLE WORLD", with very slow and mellow production. This production, in my opinion, strips this style of its musical fullness. Though, it's definitely my favorite of the three because the flows, while sometimes uninteresting, are very catchy, and the lyrics are pretty good as well. My favorite track is "EL TORO COMBO MEAL", because Earl and MAVI deliver perfectly over this eerie and full lo-fi beat. My least favorite track would have to be "4N", just beating out "GHOST" with its production and ill-fitting length. Giving this album a 1-10 using half numbers, I give this album a 7/10 with the description of: "'Some Rap Songs' but messier."
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