Mal Sounds’ Freaks and Wild Things EP Review
FREAKS AND WILD THINGS IS A BOLD SONIC DIRECTION FOR THE UP AND COMING BROOKLYN BASED ARTIST.
2020 proved to be a pivotal year for artist mal sounds (or just “Mal”). Early in the year, he took a trip to Spain before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The end result was him being stranded in Spain for 4.5 months, under social isolation due to stringent lockdown. Trapped in a foreign country, he bought some of the most affordable recording equipment he could find and used this period to refine his craft. Sensing a need to step out of his comfort zone and expand his practice, Mal recorded and released the song “These Days” in 2020, which he claimed would be the last hip-hop song that he would drop for a while. Freaks and Wild Things is a continuation of the Brooklyn based artists' bold new sonic direction.
The 8 track EP is an introspective and expansive sonic journey. Instead of a “turn up” experience, Mal instead takes the opportunity to let us in on his journey of love, loss, and growth. The narrative of the EP is one of Mal learning to reconcile his introspective nature with his desire to make genuine connections with others. The intro track “Bias” sets the ambience for this project, and with the lyrical content and lo-fi soundscape introduces Mal as a guarded (quite literally masked on the EP cover) and introspective being of being encompassed in the chaos of a cold city. The lonely nature of this track is immediately counterbalanced by Right Now. This track delivers an infectious beat via a joyful two-step inducing beat reminiscent of Solange’s “Losing You” or Tyler the Creator’s “Gone Gone/ Thank You”. Right Now is a noticeable shift and energy that demonstrates Mal’s versatility as an artist, as well as his desires to get out of his own head and to act decisively.
“Wild things glowing in the dark
It’s getting risky, moving through the muck
Doing wild things, swimming with the sharks
Been through too much shit, I lost all my trust
Two wild things and we showing lust
Seen too much shit, Think I’m still in shock
Doing wild things, yelling “Fuck the cops”
Following the contagious bounciness of Right Now, the EP shifts into slower and more melancholic soundscapes with tracks Doomsday and FTC (short for Fuck the Cops) The former trades 80s inspired pop beats for a more cinematic sound with infectious melody (particularly the portion from 0:25-0:30), and the latter settles into a darker and more sober sound reminiscent of The Art of Peer Pressure. These tracks feel less guarded than the first two tracks, as if Mal is trying to move past the awkwardness of an initial connection and has grown comfortable enough to share his more authentic emotion. Remnants of this awkwardness does unfortunately remain, and is especially evident on FTC. He sets up what seems to be a story based track only to abandon the narrative and circle back to the chorus, which leads to an overall unfulfilling resolution.
The tempo picks up in the second half of the album. Title track Freaks and Wild Things is similar to Right Now, but trades the brighter soundscape for a less vibrant instrumentation. This track is one of the highpoints of the album and serves as an anthem for the community of outsiders he is cultivating. While understated in its delivery, Freaks and Wild Things manages to feel simultaneously joyful and exuberant in a project . VVS is among the most impressive track production wise, tapping fellow recording artist Millie Gibson to record an audio interpolation reminiscent of Elton John’s Someone Saved My Life Tonight. The lush instrumentation as well as the stellar delivery of the introspective lyrics easily makes this one of the best songs of the project. The closer New Life is stylistically distinct from the rest of the project. In this track Mal has come full circle, making peace with the ending of a relationship and is shifting the focus back to himself. Sonically, this track is more dreamlike than previous songs on the album. Mal is at his most confident on this track seamlessly shifting from a melodic delivery to convincingly dropping bars, making this a memorable closer and another highlight of the project.
Freaks and Wild Things is an impressive showcase of the versatility and creative vision of mal sounds, and manages to be both sonically diverse and cohesive. It's difficult to imagine exactly where Mal’s creative sense will lead him next, but if New Life is any sign of things to come, the wild thing from Brooklyn has a bright future ahead of him.
“Diamonds, dirty sprite, they certify
Lies before my eyes I feel the light
VVS my life it hurts my eyes
Don’t wreck my pride don’t wreck my pride
Don’t look inside”
