billy woods — Church — Album Review
Alternative | Experimental | Hip-Hop | Rap
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
billy woods has proven to be a very prominent figure in not only the experimental rap scene, but my personal musical year of 2022 as well. While before this year, I had only really listened to billy woods through various collaborations, such as with E L U C I D as Armand Hammer, collaborating with producer The Alchemist under 2021’s Haram, I was able to listen and review Aethiopes, a solo album by billy woods that was released earlier this year. If you would like to see my review on that album, you can click here.
Considering that Aethiopes was only released back in April, I wasn’t expecting another album by billy woods to come around so soon. Nevertheless, I was no less excited to discover the arrival of Church, as I know that billy woods only gets more interesting with every subsequent release.
I was also curious to see how this album would stack up against the one that came before it. Besides which, I had no teaser tracks to go off of, much like Aethiopes. What I noticed with Church was the more lo-fi feel that this one has, in comparison to the previous 2022 release.
Different listeners will obviously have different outlooks towards which of the two albums proved to be the more enjoyable listen. And while I personally still prefer Aethiopes, Church still definitely holds its ground as well.
I will even go as far to say that Church is perhaps the more atmospheric album. However, the lo-fi feel that I mentioned earlier does make it ever-so-slightly more accessible, and compromises some of its uniqueness in my opinion. That being said, however, this album is definitely a great one to listen to if you have not yet listened to this rap artist and his incredible lyricisms.
Church also seems to have this trend in which a lot of the tracks feel like two different tracks tied into one. These include the likes of “Paraquat”, “Classical Music”, and “Schism”. In the case of these tracks, it made it difficult for me to put a finger on whether I enjoyed them or not, as the beat switches are vastly different in some cases. Nevertheless, the fluidity that this album has, especially from track to track, is truly brilliant.
Church also has a more drab feel to it than the likes of Aethiopes, making it a more apt listen for the autumnal season. I feel that this aspect definitely contributed to the album’s atmospheric value, which is perhaps one of its biggest credits.
Nevertheless, the same great bars can be found on this album too. While we do see a few appearances from E L U C I D, as to be expected from any album by billy woods. However, much like the previous album, woods proves to be skilful going solo as well.
Whichever way you really slice it, listeners have been absolutely spoiled by the talent and creativity of billy woods, as shown by the two marvellous pieces he has put out in the musical year of 2022.
Favourite Tracks: Swampwater | Fuschia & Green | Magdalene
Least Favourite Track: Pollo Rico
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