G-Eazy’s Everything’s Strange Here: NOT GOOD

[Intro: Anthony Fantano & Cal Chuchesta]
Yeah, this new G-Eazy record, it's not good.
What is this?? I am just bewildered as to how trash this is,like Cal Chuchesta doesn't even like it.

Nope, I have nothing nice to say about this music ablum.

And when Cal doesn't like it, when Cal Chuchesta cannot find even one redeeming quality about your record, you know it sucks.

[Review: Anthony Fantano]
G-Eazy. The white Macklemore. You know him, you love him, but he's really screwed the pooch on this new album of his. This thing is an abysmal 35-minute, woe-is-me fest, a massively failed attеmpt at coming through with a singer-songwriter record... what is it with thеse rappers these days that just want to line to be the one who's like "I wanna make the worst rock record", "I wanna make the worst punk record", "I wanna make the worst singer-songwriter record", why can't you just do what you're alread- y'already good at d-do?

HAHA... not that I'm against people branching out, trying new things, developing, learning, growing, but the thing about records like this is that you're just sauntering into this genre without really an appreciation for how it works or how to do it well, you're just half-assing the whole fucking thing, and banking on the fact that you have some clout, an audience, a following, and they're just going to mindlessly swallow whatever bullshit you do - just because you're dabbling in another sound/in a different style.

[with a high-pitched voice]
"Oh well! He's so talented! He can do raps, and he can do sad songs!"

Like, every song on this goddamn thing is trash, starting from the opening cover of "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime", which is so derivative of the Beck version of the song, like... why would you do even do another version, it's like the same exact version, but sucks.

This isn't the only cover on the album either, there is also a re-do of David Bowie's chilling "Lazarus", which comes off of his Blackstar record - which, I mean, of course, doesn't really do the original justice, obviously, you only need to listen to a minute of this track to realize that. The only comment about this I think I could really make is, what a strange choice for a cover, because for me, personally, this song, and the lyrics within, feel so specific to David Bowie, his image, his iconography, his death, his fame, his influence in the world of music, I... just have a hard time imagining anybody else being able to embody that story in a song... that doesn't feel like it's, I don't know, pulling from it in a somewhat blasphemous way. Not to imply that David Bowie is a God or anything, but what message are you trying to send on your record to cover such a narrative in the midst of all these, I don't know, seemingly shallow break-up tunes.

"Free Porn Cheap Drugs", trite instrumental, shitty, shitty, shitty vocals - the singing on this is awful, track after track after track after track, and the singing is the main focus of the record. You would think that if G-Eazy was going to sing for an entire album, he would at least make the attempt to make sure that the vocals are good, but they are NOOOT.

I feel like when G-Eazy is putting out tracks like "Back To What You Knew", he's trying to take fans and listeners, like, down a really dark path, like, ooh, this is so nasty, this is such a toxic situation, but it all just reads as performative, it's like I'm watching a bad fucking movie.

Even if some of what he's saying on these tracks is based on real-life events, his ability to translate them effectively is just non-existent, most of the time, these tracks just sound like they're bordering on parody. G-Eazy's utter lack of creativity and ability in these fields is also reflected in how derivative these songs are, like "All The Things You're Searching For?" Really? You made this trash song over what is basically just a corporation to "Where's My Mind" from the Pixies, like we've all heard that fucking track, dude. And "Stan By Me?" God, I have not heard lyrics that had made me wanna throw up so quickly.

UGGHH, so many disappointing and laughable things all over this record that make my stomach churn, like the ad-libs in the backround of "In The Middle", where it's basically G-Eazy moaning over a very sparse acoustic guitar progression, and then you just have like a lot of "WAH. WAH WAH", just weird ad-libs howling away in the backround and adding literally nothing to the song.

You know, there's a reason why guys like Elliot Smith and, you know, Bob Dylan, didn't have, just, random shouting in the backround of their tracks, because it sucks, and it interrupts the song.

The song "Nostalgia Cycle", almost sounds like a really bad Flaming Lips acoustic number for some reason, there's like kind of a squeakiness, kind of a "ehhhhhhh..." creakiness to G-Eazy's singing voice that, it does remind me of Wayne Coyne a little bit, but not at all appealing, there's something about this squeaky singing voice that reminds me of Lil Peep as well, but in a very unflattering way. Part of me wonders if he thought that maybe some of the emo trap kids would've like jumped on to this, because it's just so saaaaaad, and just, so forlooooooorn, and there's a lot of bad singing on, and a lot of guitars.

Then with the song "Every Night Of The Year", I think he tries to write outside of himself of himself a little bit, talking about a dancer being glared at by perverts, and a writer who seems to be going through, like, a hard time emotionally and creatively, and it's just... so... UGHHH.

Once more, I will say the word "performative". It's transparent, it feels like he's putting on a show in a very clear, and a very clear, I don't know, embarassing way.

The whole thing just reads as inauthentic, however what does read as authentic, though, is this incredibly cringe closer, "Had Enough", which is bitter as fuck, and it seems like he's just kinda rapping about Halsey and their relationship kinda dissolving, coming to a close, essentially. And, I don't know, this is a really unflattering track, like... this should have stayed in the drafts, sis.

Also, the Eminem-ass hook on this song too, does not sound great either, I just don't get what he was thinking with this song, and really this album in general. Again, instrumentals feel very cheap, very basic, very unflattering, ugly some of the time, and not well-produced, the singing is terrible from front to back, there is not a single good vocal performance on this album, I dare you to find one, you can't. The songwriting is unoriginal, flat, boring - emotionally, the whole thing is really hallow too, not a whole lot going on there - the writing is pretty sub-par as well, I will say that the only silver lining to this record is that... it is short. It's short. It's just thirty minutes in change, so it doesn't really take up too much of your time, so I guess if you are the masochistic type, and you don't want to suffer for too long, you could give this thing a listen, and, you know, not be a hunker down with it for maybe longer than you're willing to stand.

But yeah, I mean, G-Eazy's music previously was mediocre, but this is absolutely laughable, and, no idea what he was thinking with this one, this is, very, NOT GOOD.