BROCKHAMPTON’s 5th album, GINGER deals with the aftermath of band member Ameer Vann’s exit following sexual misconduct allegations, which interrupted the band’s rapid release of 4 albums in 16 months. GINGER proves the band may have come out stronger for it.
Its strength lies in its continuity with their previous albums with regards to dealing with themes of sexuality, religion and family, despite the shift in their sound. GINGER is more muted and less fiery than previous BROCKHAMPTON albums, and sees new collaborators, notably Ryan Beatty on ‘NO HALO’ and UK rapper slowthai, whose track ‘HEAVEN BELONGS TO YOU’ is a highlight. These collaborations maintain BROCKHAMPTON’s collective spirit and add to the album’s stylistic diversity. At times it may seem forced together, for example on ‘I BEEN BORN AGAIN’ which suffers from a lack of chorus, but the difference of all BROCKHAMPTON’s members is overall pieced together by carefully thought out production to create one of 2019’s best albums. Whilst there are few stand out hits as in the SATURATION trilogy, GINGER’s pounding tunes like ‘BOY BYE’, energetic beats as in ‘ST. PERCY’ and pretty, moving moments for example in ‘SUGAR’ and ‘DEARLY DEPARTED’ arguably make for more powerful album in its emotion and impact.
Image: Nicolas Padovani via Flickr