TOP 5 TRACKS:

5. SKITZO: This is the most 2018 Travis Scott song on the album. Hard hitting bars, spacey ad-libs and bouncy 808’s work together to create a hit track. This song features three beat switches and a perfectly placed Young Thug feature. Contrary to Young Thug’s other songs, you can actually understand what he’s saying in this song. The first two beats feature classic cowbell hits that add a nice bounce along with scrolling hi hats and deep Reese bass. However the last beat is still my favorite. It’s a much slower tempo with an old Soul string sample and those deep 808’s make cameos in the last section.

4. LOOOVE: Every single song on this album sounds completely different. LOOOVE is possibly the most stand out track with a more industrial sound that we don’t hear in any of the other tracks. This song is very bass heavy and features unique percussion, like bongos and shakers. The bounce in this song is so addictive and Travis continues to flow on it. Later in the song, Kid Cudi uses his monotone swagger to elevate the track to a new level. This is the only song on the whole album with Four on the Floor kicks, making it more of a house tune than anything else.

3. MODERN JAM: Words can’t express how surprised I was to hear this type of song on UTOPIA. MODERN JAM sounds like something from the future, or something that would be on Kanye’s experimental YEEZUS album. This song kind of sounds like they sampled a robot and the tops of trash cans slamming on the ground. That’s how I imagine it. MODERN JAM is a very stripped down track at the start, with vocals, and a drum beat. That’s it. About halfway through we hear haunting and reverberating piano stabs that find their way into the forefront of the track. Then, Teezo Touchdown blesses us with his angelic vocals on top of this haunting beat which comes together to create this confusing, yet amazing melody.

2. I KNOW ?: I KNOW ? is so simple, yet so pleasant. Travis doesn’t stop on this track, ever. He spits hard bars about forgetting girls, and confusing them for one another. This track also features the cowbells from SKITZO. Travis explores sin in this song, discussing drugs, sex, and lust. The lyrics show his conflict with the pleasures of God and the pleasures of the world. The creeping piano is my favorite part of this song, it makes me feel uneasy, but in a good way.

1. TIL FURTHER NOTICE: This bittersweet song is last on the album. It’s a fantastic song, but it also marks the end of the journey. Metro Boomin’s production on this track holds the trap drum elements that everyone loves, but also finds a way to incorporate strings and classic synths. James Blake and 21 Savage are featured, two artists that could not be more different. 21 Savage has surprisingly deep vocals given that he normally just raps about murder and drugs. James Blake provides the most incredible vocal performance- it’s so good that Travis doesn’t even need to rap until 3 minutes in.