“It’ll Be Okay, No Matter What They Say About Us” — BROCKHAMPTON COUNT ON ME Track Review
The second single from BROCKHAMPTON’s upcoming sixth studio album, ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE, just dropped last night to much anticipation after BUZZCUT left fans wanting more of America’s favorite boyband. So, with RR on the horizon, I thought that I would share my take of this single.
The track begins with a whistling melody with some light chords underneath, its already apparent that this has a way different feel than their previous single for RR — much more intimate and mellow. Shortly after the intro, we get right into it with a verse from A$AP Rocky, accompanied by a beat of low, synth bass pulses. I’m not quite sure why, but I absolutely love the beat — it's not overly complicated, it does what it needs to do, but doesn’t overtake, and I LOVE the pulses of bass. Rocky delivers an excellent verse, and the way he delivers it blends perfectly into the vibe of the song. It's very mellow, but not passive. He grabs your attention as soon as it starts.
Now we move into the chorus with some beautiful vocals by Jabari (we love to see some Jabari vocals), Ryan Beatty, and Shawn Mendes. I’m going to be real, I did not imagine a collaboration between Shawn and BH, but I must say, I am pleasantly surprised. His vocals were very enjoyable. This track has a much more pop feel than their previous single and I think that this just showcases BH’s versatility. They don’t have to be locked into one genre, that’s not what music is. Music is pushing boundaries and following creative vision wherever it takes them. If I’m being honest though, while this chorus is catchy, it does feel pretty standard. That might not be a bad thing, but it's just an observation I had, nothing too mind-blowing, just simple.
Then, after the chorus, we head to a verse from SoGoneSoFlexy. This verse falls a little bit flat for me in a way I can’t quite explain. I think it is just a personal preference, but I’m not a fan of his delivery on this verse. It's a little muddled and hard to understand, and it doesn’t have the energy I’m looking for. I can’t quite place my finger on it though. I’m also not a huge fan of the use of the autotune towards the end. I know it's a style, but it's not for me. This by no means ruins the track for me though, it's still a solid verse even if it doesn’t hit for me stylistically.
Directly after, we are graced with a verse from Matt Champion and I actually really enjoy it. His flow is kind of interesting and I like the subtle reverb added to his vocals. It fits the vibe of the song perfectly but doesn’t muddle his vocals so much that it's a mess of sound. An overall good verse — nothing too special but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Once we’re done with Matt’s verse, we get taken into another chorus and a small outro sang by Jabari. Overall, this track didn’t blow me out of the water, but I can see and appreciate what they are doing. It fits perfectly with what Kevin Abstract described it to be — “…Summertime vibes. Ride around with the windows down with ya best friend singing super loud to the chorus type vibe…”. It's catchy, got a good beat, and immaculate vibes. It's what it was intended to be and nothing more. This track is quite feature-heavy, so I hope to see more stuff focused on the boys, but I’m not too worried that they’ll be overshadowed with the rest of the album. While I, personally, am more of a fan of the BUZZCUT style tracks, this one still gets me hyped for the release of their album with it showing the softer side of their music. I’m ready for the light.
Stream ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE April 9th at a streaming service near you. Or buy a physical my dude, whatever floats your boat.
