Suicideyear / Outthepound - Brothers

Pitchfork 68

Though he’s worked steadily since his 2013 debut album Japan, the New Orleans-based producer James Richard Prudhomme (a.k.a. Suicideyear) is still probably best known for producing “Hurt” by Yung Lean, a rapper whose work is often used as a proxy for the most grating aspects of hip-hop appropriation. Whatever you think of the controversial Swede, however, Suicideyear never deserved to inherit Lean’s criticisms. Over the course of his relatively short career, Prudhomme has worked with Atlanta rappers Rome Fortune and OG Maco and embraces hip-hop as sincerely as he does his house and techno influences. Though he's clearly still fond of Yung Lean, he told Impose in 2014 that “I wouldn’t say I’m a sad boy."

Mistaking Suicideyear’s Tumblr-friendly sound for irony was easy to do a few years ago, but today the definitions of “trap” have become so nebulous, for better or worse, that conversations about authenticity have naturally shifted. “Bad and Boujee” is, amazingly, the number one song in America and arguments about ownership now have easier targets (see: Lil Peep, perhaps saddest boy of all). Suicideyear’s 808s sound like the ones he’s heard listening to Louisiana hip-hop stations for most of his life, and the beats he crafts from them are often quite good.

Brothers is a collaboration with similarly-minded producer Outthepound, a friend who also favors languid tempos and nostalgic synth tones. Though not as high-profile a producer as Prudhomme—as of press time Outthepound has 16 tracks and 608 followers on Soundcloud—his production has already coalesced around identifiable touchstones. While Suicideyear often employs club-friendly synths in unusual contexts, Outthepound prefers presets that recall ’90s video game soundtracks. (Album art on Facebook for their song “Lust” features an avatar wielding Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword from “Final Fantasy VII.”) Other solo tracks of his, like “Conclusive,” come wreathed in dream-pop haze. The two had previously collaborated on Rome Fortune’s “Trap Lady,” a spaced-out track with screwed vocals and soothing textures that brought together both of their styles: slick, druggy, melancholic.

On Brothers, the duo’s template is spare, with bright melodies placed atop staccato snares and moody bass. These are purposefully low-impact productions: On the one hand, it’s easy to imagine that adding a warbler like Lil Uzi Vert to “All Nite” would add some direction and purpose. On the other, the instrumental beats show that Suicideyear and Outthepound are comfortable in their own world. The final two tracks are the most and least successful on the EP. “Jolly” sounds like TNGHT’s “Bugg’n” with a hint of NOLA bounce, a combination that works, but isn't original enough to be interesting on its own. “For Us,” on the flip side, swells into something more maximal and engrossing than anything on the record and hints at widescreen impulses the duo rarely indulge.

A digital release with just six tracks, Brothers is a compelling snapshot of two young producers evolving quickly. If they stay in the hip-hop world, it’ll be fascinating to see if more rappers hop onboard and how they mesh with their sound; if they follow the path suggested by “For Us,” we might see a Suicideyear x Outthepound teamup capable of headlining clubs or festivals on their own.