BROCKHAMPTON has reached 'The Ending' with 'The Family'
BROCKHAMPTON’s ‘The Family’ album review
By Christina Ryan-Wilson
How does one define BROCKHAMPTON? Boisterous, rowdy, contentious... These are words that may come to mind. Others might attribute the boyband to soundtracking their adolescence (if I’m honest, I’ve found that sitting in the back of your friend’s Honda Civic while the bass of “BLEACH” shook the Fanta-stained carpet beneath your dirty Vans was a universal high school experience.) BROCKHAMPTON was a band that consistently garnered questions, “Who is this? What is this?” And they never really gave anyone an answer.
The genre-bending “best boy band since One Direction” enjoyed a slew of success and controversy since releasing SATURATION in June of 2017, some of which they address on their 17-track farewell, The Family, though most of which they merely gloss over, not lending more than half of a verse because, at the end of the day, that’s not what The Family is about. It’s a peek into Kevin Abstract’s – the only band member to appear on the album – journal, detailing the painfully intimate feelings of grief, nostalgia, anger, and yearning; all emotions one might attribute to, appropriately, family – chosen, found, blood. It’s about the summer of one’s life – soaring but oppressive, a sun-drenched period of unapologetic chaos and joy. It’s about growing up. It’s the finale.
The opening track, “Take It Back”, operates on a beat that feels of a particular time, a time where Chance the Rapper and Ye were essentially inescapable, as a pitched-up gospel choir loops behind Abstract’s impassioned and celebratory delivery, declaring, “if we talkin’ bout groups, we still top ten.” It’s an anthemic, upbeat introduction, though it doesn’t last long (2 minutes and 17 seconds, to be exact) before Abstract seamlessly launches into “RZA”, a track detailing Abstract’s frustration surrounding the cliched question “Why don’t you keep the band together?” and his own personal growth, stating that “I’ve lost my friends / But I fuck with myself.”
The band returns to its roots on tracks such as the resentful “Gold Teeth” (“Did we sign for too many motherfucking albums? Probably,”) and pays homage to its trademarks on the most texturally exciting track, “Big Pussy” (“Moshing at the shows, surprised we ain’t get sued yet.”) The band hasn’t lost its in-your-face charm, evident on the less remarkable “Southside” and “Basement” (though Abstract does swiftly acknowledge allegations of sexual misconduct, simply claiming “I don’t f**k fans; if they say so, don’t believe it.”)
They still take a moment to come back down to earth with sunnier songs such as “All That”, which leans into summery, hazy nostalgia with lush vocalization from Caitlyn Harris and Abstract taking a page from previous collaborator Ryan Beatty’s book, the lighthearted beat and vocal melody offsetting the regretful lyricism. A wiser Abstract now knows “it ain’t all that.”
Abstract is at his most vulnerable on this final record as a whole. He begs God to not make him grow up, grapples with the pain of moving on and letting go, and the humiliation and shame of going so far as morphing yourself into somebody new entirely just to keep someone around, the complex feelings that arise when one turns their “friendship into a business into an empire,” love and hate being two sides of the same coin, and knowing when it’s time to walk away (bearface assures him, “You tried to keep it alive / I’ll be fine / So let it go, baby.”) Now is that time.
On the final and longest track, Abstract confesses to wanting something that “felt more real / but still be a popstar / without making radio songs / and no TikTok bangers,” perhaps referencing the previous virality of their track “SUGAR.” He sings the praises of members Joba, Matt Champion, Dom McLennon, Merlyn Wood, Jabari Manwa, and bearface. And with that, BROCKHAMPTON has closed the curtain.
“The show’s over; get out your seats.”