Ain’t Gonna Die Tonight (ft. Eric Nally): Oh God, I heard the hook and immediately wanted to yell “SHUT UP!” Eric Nally’s chorus is damn annoying, and while I think Macklemore’s flow is pretty solid, this one really wasn’t very exciting to me. Yeah, no, not a great start to the album.
Glorious (ft. Skylar Grey): While I do like Skylar Grey’s hook and Macklemore’s flow on this one, I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit too generic. Like, throughout all of this, I just kept telling myself that I’ve heard all of this before. And while I don’t mind if a song sounds familiar, it doesn’t have enough charm or excitement to really keep it from feeling contrived and pretty mediocre.
Marmalade (ft. Lil Yachty): The hook is kinda decent on this one, but lyrically, I definitely think there’s a little bit of cringe on this one. And I think it’s particularly telling that Lil Yachty, a rapper I’m not particularly fond of, is honestly the highlight of this track. Like, I’m not even gonna lie, I liked Yachty’s verse on this one, way more than either of Macklemore’s. Not a terrible track, but nothing too amazing.
Willy Wonka (ft. Offset): Macklemore’s lyrics are pretty clever on this one, and I like his flow of course, but I think the hook is really boring and contrived, and I’m not as crazy about Offset’s verse on this one. This could’ve been a pretty great track, but unfortunately, it’s just “ehh.”
Intentions (ft. Dan Caplen): I really like Dan Caplen’s hook on this one (he’s got a great voice, might I say), and while Macklemore takes things a bit slower on this one, I think he does a fine job overall, and the lyrics were actually surprisingly thought-provoking. All in all, I actually really like this song.
Good Old Days (ft. Kesha): Kesha’s performance on this track is great as always, and I like the lyrics a lot. I like how they talk about remembering back to the good old days, and while it’s a kind of sad-sounding song, I think it’s a really well-made, enjoyable listen.
Levitate (ft. Otieno Terry): After two relatively slow songs, we have a dance song, and I’ll be honest, this one bored me. While I think there are some solid lyrics here, I think the song just feels like it’s been done before, and doesn’t have enough charm or fun factor to really make up for its familiarity. Oh, and Otieno Terry (the guy who sings the chorus) honestly just kind of sounds like discount Bruno Mars to me.
Firebreather (ft. Reignwolf): I like the mix of rap and rock on this one. It’s nicely head-noddy, I like Reignwolf’s hook (even if it sounds like it’s been done before), and I like the instrumental sound on this one. I can definitely say it’s not my favorite track on the album, but it’s definitely a solid song overall.
How to Play the Flute (ft. King Draino): The post-chorus on this is literally “ah-choo, god bless you, ay.” *sigh* In all seriousness, though, I’m not crazy about this one. I think that it once again sounds a bit too contrived, and I’m not big on King Draino’s hook or performance on this one, either.
Ten Million: This is the only track on the album that doesn’t have a featured artist. Make of that what you will. And again, this one really bored me a lot. It feels like Macklemore's just trying to make a “modern-day rap song,” and just making a not-so-exciting attempt at it. It’s an interesting attempt for sure, but it’s just really “whatever.”
Over It (ft. Donna Missal): I really like the verses on this one, and I think Macklemore does a really good job on them, and Donna Missal has a good voice, even if her hook isn’t anything really amazing. A decent song overall, nothing amazing, nothing bad.
Zara (ft. Abir): I’ll be honest, I heard Abir’s hook and I didn’t think it was a different person from the last track. They sounded very close to each other. The hook was still pretty solid, though at this point, Macklemore’s overly autotuned sound is getting old and he’s only been sticking to it for like two or three tracks. Just another “whatever” song.
Corner Store (ft. Dave B and Travis Thompson): Dave B, who sings the chorus, definitely sounds a lot like Chance the Rapper. Just saying. Neither he nor Travis Thompson (the other featured artist) really provide any memorable performances on this one, and not even Macklemore’s performance is amazing (it’s just kinda feeling old already). It sounds nice at some parts, but otherwise, it’s nothing amazing.
Miracle (ft. Dan Caplen): Dan Caplen returns on this one, and once again, I really like his hook. And I also like the slower sound of the song and, for lack of a better word, the hopelessness of the song as a whole. It’s definitely not one of the album’s strongest songs, and I think Caplen really outshines Macklemore on this one, but it’s a pretty solid song overall.
Church (ft. Xperience): Instrumentally, I find this track to be really interesting, but I don’t think Macklemore or Xperience (the featured artist) really put in their best performances on this one. Another track that personally was just kind of boring.
Excavate (ft. Saint Claire): I love Saint Claire’s voice and hook on this one, and I like Macklemore’s more subdued performance and personal lyrics. It’s a lighter song, but it works really well, and it ends off the album really well. Definitely one of the album’s better songs.
Overall, I kind of don’t really know what to make of this album as a whole. There were a few pretty memorable tracks, but unfortunately, they were buried beneath a lot of boring, “whatever” kind of songs. Like, there was just so much “meh” on the album, and a number of the songs were just boring, generic, and forgettable overall. I can’t really say in good conscience that I enjoyed this album because, while Macklemore’s performances are rock-solid, and his lyricism is not bad, the songs feel really formulaic (literally, most of them are two verses and two choruses alone), the performances of the featured artists are a mix of good and bad, and I’ll be honest, quite a few of the songs on this album I’ve already blanked out of my mind mere minutes after listening to it.
Favorite tracks: Intentions, Good Old Days, Excavate
Least favorite tracks: Ain't Gonna Die Tonight, How to Play the Flute
Rating: Bad
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