Album of the Week: Hive Mind — The Internet
Our Album of the Week is Hive Mind, from The Internet, the band formerly part of Odd Future, Tyler, The Creator’s musical contingent. But, does this album capture the same essence of unified consciousness that the title does? This is what Mariella has to say.
Knowing the origin of the band, the name ‘The Internet’ makes perfect sense. They began as part of the collective Odd Future, an innovative group that could have only become successful in the modern age, gaining followers by posting their music for free online. Syd Tha Kid helped form the group in 2011 and never looked back. As the only female and openly gay member of a group that was controversial for its misogynistic and homophobic lyrics, she was under a lot of pressure from the LGBT community after some began to see her position in the group as tacit approval of its contentious messages. “The gay community hated me for being part of Odd Future,” she stated, and speaking of her relationships with the rest of the group, she said: “We weren’t all that close, and they never seemed to want to hear [about my emotions]”. It was no surprise then, that she officially left the collective in 2016 to focus solely on the band she helped form.
Ego Death, The Internet’s last release, has easily been their most successful album to date. Amassing copious critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination, it came as a surprise that the members of the group decided to work on solo projects. Often, solo projects can lead to a complete breakdown of relationships in a group, with rivalry and bitterness over each other’s successes. But this doesn’t seem to have happened with The Internet. Coming back three years later, even the name of their new album, Hive Mind, suggests that a crucial sense of cohesion has not been lost. Whether this new LP lives up to the hype of the last is not a question on anyone’s mind, though. “It’s a lot faster than Ego Death”, Matt Martians said of the new album, “We wanted some tenacity […] Ego Death we felt was a little two vibey” [sic].
If tenacity was what they wanted, it is definitely what they achieved. Their new sound is decidedly more jazz and funk inspired than the down-tempo beats of the previous album. ‘Roll (Burbank Funk)’ is bare when it comes to the lyrics, but the classic funky bass line carries the song, making it one of the punchiest tracks on the record. ‘La Di Da’ is another example of this, featuring a pure wah funk guitar and swinging beat. Syd’s vocals add a refreshing take, too, boasting more bite than her usually sultry, smooth performance.
The other single from the album, ‘Come Over’, provides one of the best moments on the tracklisting, with the funky guitar and drum beat providing a perfect platform for Syd’s seduction: “Home alone/For the night/I can turn you on/With my dirty mind”. The mood is only ruined by Lacy’s outro, which strikes a very different tone with its accompanying messy beat. ‘Stay The Night’, unsurprisingly, has the same theme but with a more serious delivery, feeling almost nocturnal and sensual, rather than playful which is the mood that the former track strikes.
As well as attempted seduction being a theme, other songs are addressed to previous lovers, such as the song ‘Bravo’ where Syd sings: “What a waste, babe, what a shame/You were playing games”. Despite another killer bassline, the drum beat sounds more like two bin lids crashing together, as if a group of Foley artists stumbled into the wrong studio. ‘Mood’ has the opposite issue, with Syd’s vocals having a strange urgency to them that doesn’t suit the sensual vibe. ‘Look What You Started’ is definitely an example of the punchier, upbeat style that the band seemed to be aiming for, however. The beat is snappy and prominent throughout, but this is the part of the only song where anger is reflected by the lyrics. Over a bouncing melody, Syd warns, threateningly: “I hope you finally get it on your judgement day’/Cause you’re gonna pay babe”.
It seems that the band are trying hard to maintain an outward image of unity, not only with the change in tempo but through the messages in their songs. The opening track, ‘Come Together’, is a quiet, soul funk number that celebrates the return of the group, with several of the members singing together on the chorus. After getting out all their extra energy with their solo albums, the song is a welcome reminder that The Internet are more than ready to return to their third group project. Continuing in the same, uplifting vein, ‘It Gets Better (With Time)’ has a wonderfully inspiring message, with reassuring lyrics from Syd, and a spoken word verse from Big Rude, who has featured on several classic OutKast albums in the past.
In terms of The Internet’s music, at least, the sentiment that ‘it gets better with time’, is certainly true. On previous albums, the group have released tracks with two parts, such as ‘Palace/Curse’ from their last album Ego Death. On this track, and other similarly structured tracks they’ve put out in the past, the transition between each part has been messy, but ‘Next Time/Humble Pie’ shows that the awkward kinks in their production style have been smoothed out. Beginning with a popping, Neptunes-style beat on part 1, the song winds down, effortlessly, into the dreamier second half, where Syd’s voice sounds more distant than before.
‘Beat Goes On’, like ‘Come Together’, is one of several tracks where other members of the group take lead vocals. The intrumentation is busy and bustling, invoking an experimental jazz vibe, before taking a completely different turn to sound more like an alternative drum and bass interpretation.
The Internet truly are a ‘hive mind’. Seeming more coherent than ever before, their music is unprecedentedly nuanced and subtle. The connection they have seems to transcend the music, and this is a kind of magic you can’t recreate. “Matt was there for me through some of the toughest periods in my life”, Syd says. “Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was”. Is this the secret to their success? It would seem so. “I always stress to people that wanna [sic] be in groups or start groups: do it with your friends”, Chris says. “Hanging out and making fun of each other. That’s the secret.”
Unlike Odd Future, who were fronted by Tyler, The Creator, The Internet don’t have a clear hierarchy. It is obvious with this album that the band are functioning better than ever as a unit and collective, rather than a musical dictatorship. They aren’t trying to replicate the success of Ego Death. Instead, they seem to be reflecting the individual growth they have experienced between their last release and now. As the name suggests, Hive Mind is proof that when you collaborate on the same level, the music that follows can only get better.
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