"The gift of skaiwater's best music is its unique shape, blown-out underground rap styles carefully folded into delicate origami. Forget every preconceived notion you might have about 'rage rap' and put on 'rain'-it's so pretty, a butterfly fluttering around a bomb site. On that album, skai harnessed beat drops like wrecking balls crashing into the walls of their heart."
"At their most inventive, skaiwater is like if -era Travis Scott and Playboi Carti had a baby. That's why their new album, wonderful, leaves me a little cold. It rarely aspires for that inquisitive, Ye-brained alchemy, the kind that could only come from a forum kid with a bottomless appetite for music across the spectrum."
"Skaiwater doesn't have their signature arranger's touch here; they sound like a copy of a copy. When I listen to songs like 'STAR' and 'IPHONE 5' off wonderful, my mind goes to the meticulous patchwork of vocal takes and ad-libs on REST IN BASS. On a formal level, it's cool to hear skai weave together their clipped vocals so carefully."
Skaiwater previously demonstrated exceptional artistry by blending underground rap with intricate production and emotional complexity, creating music that balanced delicate arrangements with explosive moments. Their earlier albums showcased inventive genre experimentation and a diverse musical palette reminiscent of experimental artists like Travis Scott and Playboi Carti. However, their new album 'wonderful' represents a significant departure from this creative approach. The record abandons the curiosity and innovation that characterized previous work, instead adopting conventional rage rap tropes and formulaic production. Songs lack the meticulous vocal layering and arranger's sensibility that previously distinguished their sound, resulting in one-dimensional tracks designed for mainstream appeal rather than artistic exploration.
Read at Pitchfork
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