Cyst - ᲘᲘ
The fact I discovered Iglooghost via his production work for Milo feels both fitting and insane now.
Because while the beats he made for Milo's 2014 debut album A Toothpaste Suburb are some of my favorites off that album, they fell more into that sort of cross section of Dilla worship and the growing festival trap scene that was all the rage for 2010's college radio rap. His solo work, on the other hand, was always kinda Arca by way of Rustie. We go back as far Chinese Nü Yr and Neō Wax Bloom and Iglooghost (real name Seamus Malliagh) was already making music about time traveling worms and eyeballs crashing into planets. His normal was already on a different planet so learning about this man because of a song where a rapper refrences Schopenhauer to grieve over the untimely death of his friend makes me feel like I somehow missed a few pages of the Iglooghost story.
But another important part of this story and album comes to us in the form of Daisy* (f.k.a. BABii), another producer of strange warped beats and Iglooghost's girlfriend of over 8 years (they even have a kid together that can be seen on the cover of this album, he's very cute.) Daisy* (real name Daisy Warne) of course isn't new to the game (even if the name has only been around for less than a year), as BABii she has about 5 albums under her belt, including XYZ which was a colaboration between Daisy*, Iglooghost, and fellow electronic musician Kai Whitson (who we don't need to talk about right now or possibly ever) that showcased the strenghts of all three artists and how well they worked together. Daisy* and Iglooghost also frequently appear on each other's albums so finally getting to hear a full length collaboration between just the two of them is very welcome. So finally here we are with their debut album as their new duo Cyst, ᲘᲘ (which is pronouced "rabbit" if you were wondering.)
The album's opener, Knackered starts off with the sound of a squeak toy, and while normally that would seem like a cute, fun, playful way to kick off an album it feels more sinister here. If you didn't know, the sound made by a squeak toy is meant to imitate the cries of a dying animal, given the title is pronounced "rabbit" the inclusion of the squeak toy feels like like fun playful times with a beloved pet and more like a warning that you are being hunted and the hunters are taunting you. Mr. Gloo then comes in with a machine gun flow and bars about peepholes, popcorn lung, beating a dead horse, dental erosion, and grease stains; we're very far away from the neon colors and space worms of Chinese Nü Yr. The stuttering drum-n-bass beats give you little time to breathe as Seamus and Daisy effortlessly trade off verses about body rot, decay, and being torn limb from limb. It's starting of the album with a brick to the face grounding you from the surreal fantasy lands that usually spraw across the duo;s respective solo works. It's the loose nail tearing your shirt just before you walk out the door for work but in a way that is at least sonically interesting.
The next tracks Rabbit and Needle turn down the bpm but don't lose any of the catchiness, Rabbit is a delightfully frustrtraiting tune about a cartoon rabbit (who will be back later so don't forget about him) bullying the band by spitting some, allegedly, fire bars onto a track they were working on that was simply not coming together... before stealing the file and jumping out the window so they can't release the track. Needle is a simple track about rotting through the depression by holing up in your room on your computer. It reminds me a lot of A Grand Don't Come For Free by The Streets which is a rap concept album about a man losing his bank card (no seriously, and it's amazing.) It's musicians finding themselves confronting the mundane parts of life and spinning it into something you can play on repeat. The track Dog Shit is easily where you can see this clearest as it's a track about their lives being a series of frustrations while a band they hate gets signed and is gaining buzz online. The couple had just had their first child before making this album and they stated trying to juggle having a newborn with trying to make a rap album was the inspiration for these songs and it's well represented. All the bitterness and anger that seeps throughout this album is always directed either at other people or the universe for making them not have better motivation. It reads like two people who know their newborn is obviously what's causing them the most stress right now since it's stressful to be a first time parent, but because they love their kid and he's obviously not trying to make their lives difficult on purpose they are directing that anger anywhere else they can. The track Infant doesn't even mention their child and is instead another track like Knackered about rot and decay and still feeling like they are infants who have little control over their lives. It's a strangely relatable feeling despite me not having any kids (but I do have access to the news which makes me personally feel like I'm sleeping in weedkiller. :3 )
The rabbit shows up again for the final track Pest where the rabbit asks if he can perform with the band, does a show, gets a record deal that he screws the other two members out of and goes off to have a fabulous life. It's one final "fuck you" the band gives themselves before the record ends. But then that squeak toy noise comes back in as the album closes, but unlike the begining where it's slow and sounds like it's being used to entice an animal to come bite at it, here's it's much quicker and reminiscent of mocking laughter. The hunted rabbit from the beginning of the album has come back with a vengance and now is taunting you for not taking him out while you had the chance. A biting reminder that life won't get any less difficult for you just cause you made a pretty bangin album.
Final Score: 7/10