BROCKHAMPTON — The Family & TM — Album Reviews

6 min readNov 21, 2022

Alternative | Indie | Hip-Hop | Rap

When BROCKHAMPTON were teasing their break-up back in 2021, I was almost certain that their album release last year, in the form of ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE would be their final album. That being said, I was certainly surprised to see the boyband release another two albums in the same day in 2022.

However, the promise of the breakup seems way more set in stone, as the group go out with a bang, with one swiftly teased release in the form of The Family, and another bonus release in the form of TM.

I will be covering both albums in this review, which will obviously take a slightly different approach to my conventional review.

But Who Are BROCKHAMPTON?

If you’re asking yourself this question, I would say you’ve been missing out on a lot; big time!

BROCKHAMPTON are the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest boyband”, but another way of describing them would be that they are a super vibrant collective of artists. And while their style mainly encompasses the aesthetics of hip-hop, they certainly haven’t been too shy to dip their toes into different genres either, such as indie and pop.

I have been a fan of BROCKHAMPTON since the days of the SATURATION series (or more aptly, the year). Said year would have been 2017, and the band (rightfully so) blew up, thanks to their unique and highly innovative style (along with the fact that they released three albums in the same year, of course).

That kind of productivity was practically unheard of in the music industry at that point, and I feel that it has greatly influenced the sheer quantity of music that artists across all genres have put out over recent years.

Following the explosion that was the SATURATION series, BROCKHAMPTON released an album pretty much every subsequent year. In 2018, we had iridescence, while 2019 gave us GINGER. Both of these works led BROCKHAMPTON down a bit more of a commercial path, and in turn, they lost a little bit of their uniqueness, in my opinion.

2020 was the year of lockdown, so I’ll definitely let the lack of a BROCKHAMPTON album that year slide. But in 2021, the band bit back hard with the aforementioned ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE. This was when the band regained a lot of their uniqueness, but also when the news struck about their breakup.

So Why Are BROCKHAMPTON Breaking Up?

I actually had to look this up myself, if I’m being honest. But the answers pretty simple, and also a promising one of that.

Because BROCKHAMPTON is finally putting the boyband life behind them, that won’t necessarily mean that it will be the last we hear from each of the members.

In essence, the reasoning behind the breakup comes down to the compromise that comes with being a group as large in members as BROCKHAMPTON is. One can only imagine the amount of creativity that each of the members try to bring to the table, but multiple creativities clash, and the breakup would, in theory, allow each of the members of BROCKHAMPTON to create the music that they want, without compromise.

But while we potentially have plenty of solo projects to look forward to in the future, It’s high time for me to review the final two BROCKHAMPTON projects. Starting with The Family.

The Family

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music

While being the BROCKHAMPTON album of the two being reviewed in this article to be teased (and of course, being labelled as a BROCKHAMPTON album), The Family is actually better described as a potential taste of things to come, regarding the potential solo projects to come.

This album has founding BROCKHAMPTON member Kevin Abstract with both hands on the wheel. In other words, this felt way more like a Kevin Abstract solo album than a BROCKHAMPTON one.

Given the fact that this wouldn’t be the first Kevin Abstract solo project (that honour would go to the sub-par project, 2019’s ARIZONA BABY), I would normally have reason to be anxious about an album like this. However, the teaser tracks which heralded the arrival of The Family swiftly flipped my expectation in a full 180 movement.

Both “Big Pussy” and “The Ending” were both incredible tracks (albeit short ones). On top of that, it brought the most energy that BROCKHAMPTON have blessed us with since 2021’s “BUZZCUT” (especially in the case of the former), while the soulfulness of the latter was on Kanye West’s Late Registration levels of soulful.

Funnily enough, that soulfulness turned out to be one the the key elements to make this album one of the most unique BROCKHAMPTON albums in years. It truly showed off just how versatile the members could potentially be without the compromises that curse bands like themselves.

But on top of that, the narrative pulls absolutely no punches; Kevin Abstract goes over all of the times the band have had together, good, bad and ugly. He even dives deep into the corruption of fame, the toxic pressure to “turn a friendship into a business” and even alcoholism. It dived deep in a way that really had me engaged.

I don’t think that this album could’ve made me more happy for the band splitting up. It essentially allows listeners to not only embrace the breakup all the more painlessly, but also has us incredibly excited for the futures of each member.

Question Everything Inc | RCA Records | Sony Music

Final Score: 88%

TM

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music

Along with the release of The Family, we also received this bonus release from BROCKHAMPTON, which certainly feels more like one last team effort.

Each of BROCKHAMPTON’s members show themselves off in what feels almost like a musical victory lap for the group. And along with The Family, TM really brings the energy.

In fact, I would say that these are two of the most energetic albums that the band have put out in their entire discography; what a way to finish off, eh?

But on top of energy, TM really feels like the band’s quintessential versatile album, exploring absolutely every corner of what the band have explored before. There are synth-heavy dance beats (some of which even have a Daft Punk vibe to them), gritty rap bangers, and everything else in-between.

I wouldn’t say that TM has as much of an in-depth narrative as The Family, but I honestly believe it’s not really supposed to. This album really made me feel like the band were really having fun, which is a really sweet way to leave things; it’s the band having one last party, before pursuing their separate musical journeys.

Unlike how The Family made me feel happy for the band breaking up, TM, on the other hand, has me feeling sad to see BROCKHAMPTON as a band come to an end. However, the bittersweetness is what these two albums encompass together, making for a truly memorable listening experience overall.

Favourite Tracks: FMG | NEW SHOES | MAN ON THE MOON | DUCT TAPE | GOODBYE

Question Everything Inc | RCA Records | Sony Music

Final Score: 82%

Conclusion

The conclusion comes back down to that key word; bittersweet. Of course I will miss BROCKHAMPTON as a band, given my long-time love for their creativity, innovation, and awesome tunes. However, I still feel that given the circumstances behind what the band have been through, that breaking up to pursue solo efforts is the right call for them.

And as much as I’m going to miss their large-scale musical collaboration, I am just as excited to see what each of the individual members bring to the table in the forseeable future.