I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - Razzmatazz (Review)
I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - Razzmatazz (Review)
11/5/20
I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, or IDKHOW for short, has been wowing people everywhere since their mid-2017 single "Modern Day Cain". Their new sound graced the ears of indie, alternative, and emo communities alike since people saw that Dallon Weekes was the lead of the project. In 2018, they released their debut EP which carried three previously-released singles from it, one introduction, and two other songs. This EP was an interesting sound that more closely followed a more indie pop-rock style that was, in many situations, more fast and gritty. It had an interesting sound, for sure, but it wasn't like their more experimental-style of pop-rock that came with their first two 2017 singles "Choke" and the previously mentioned "Modern Day Cain". We hadn't heard anything from them except from a 3-track Christmas project in November 2019; two of which were covers. On September 2nd, however, we received a nice surprise from Weekes and the duo's drummer Ryan Seaman with a brand-new single "Leave Me Alone". This sound was seemingly somewhat different than their EP that was much more synth-pop based with rock drums playing a pretty basic groove. This tracked was something of a turn-off at first, but its lyrics grow on you pretty easily. After this, we received the title track "Razzmatazz", and the full album one month following on October 23rd. Many questions went through the heads of fans before this album released, and it's exciting to go over them all today and what this album turned out to be.
Firstly, there are a lot of good things about this album. IDKHOW has always been known for some sort of overarching mysterious story that ties in with their strange overall theme and their performances. There seemed to be a lot more relating to this theme surrounding the track list and marketing of their last EP, but here, a lot of that is gone. Their theme is very unique, and the only reason that it's good their first full album doesn't really include it is because it doesn't rely on any certain cinematic theme. This album focuses solely on its music, which is very easy to appreciate. The next good thing goes over the style. The style in this album is certainly a little different than their past projects, and while there are some parts about it to dislike, there are a lot of good elements to this style that are worth looking at. The style is way more 80s synth-pop related, which fits their general theme a little better, and it's refreshing to listen to the different styles from their projects. Despite the difference being very slight and minuscule, it still works very well. The album does especially well at abiding to this theme throughout its duration, while keeping things fresh with interesting skits, interludes, and general stylistic break-offs. The last major good thing about this album that stands worth pointing out is its production. This album clearly has a bigger budget than their last projects, and it certainly shows. This can somewhat be attributed to a sellout-like feel in some places, but overall the production still fits great with this style.
In terms of the negative side, (referring back to the album's style), it can get a little restricting creatively. While within the context of this one album the style never seems to get old, a lot of the songs have this very certain feel to them instrumentally and vocally. The style also influences the strange and conflicting writing style for most of these lyrics. A lot of these songs actually have beautiful lyrics and distinct yet unique themes that are worth writing about and bringing attention to, but the major problem is the execution. It either seems the bounds of rhyming, writing style for this genre, or a need to make everything catchy and memorable turns the great lyrics into mush. You'll have these sentences that are absolutely beautiful when analyzed, but they come off sounding so dumb in nearly every song. This isn't to say that the execution is all bad whatsoever, but it could have been better in a lot of parts, or at least in the main tracks in the overall style.
There really aren't any other major bad things that go outside the album's style and the creative restrictions it puts on the writing, producing, and composing processes. The only other minor personal gripe would be the fact that they spoiled the beginning and ending of the album with singles. Then again, this album is mainly just a more spiced-up compilation of singles in a specific style rather than an album with any sort of arch or story to it. Despite anything bad I'll have to say about this album, it is certainly a good project. It's driven by a passion for the lyrical content and style backed by great instrumentation, production, and performances; all clearly the work of people with a true talent. My favorite track is "From the Gallows". This one is interesting; it did break off from that style somewhat while staying within the bounds of emo and indie. The lyrics and dynamic shifts in this track are wondrous, and it's something anyone who even remotely likes this general style should listen to. My least favorite track is "MAD IQs"; it made a pretty underwhelming start of the album, seeing as before this came a skit and a single we'd heard previously. The melody was pretty dull for the chorus, verses, and bridge alike. While it's undoubtably catchy, it's nothing too cool or special. Giving this album a 1/10 using half numbers, I give this album a 7.5/10 with a five-word description of: "how to stay stylistically bound".
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