Released: 2018

Genres: Trap, Southern Hip-Hop, Pop Rap, Neo-Psychedelia, R&B

The Musiquarium’s ASTROWORLD Review Score: 8 out of 10

Acting as both his third solo studio album and a tie-in to his upcoming music festival, ASTROWORLD sees Travis Scott bouncing back after his disappointing sophomore album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.

STARGAZING begins the album with the type of flute sample that has come to be associated with trap, then the instrumental abruptly changes midway through the song. The trippy CAROUSEL uses cleverly uses a chopped up sample of vocals from Beastie Boys’ The New Style and features Frank Ocean’s Midas touch. SICKO MODE and it’s three different sections are fairly dynamic for a hit single.

NO BYSTANDERS samples Bjork’s 1997 single Jóga, but uses it in such a subtle way that you may miss it. James Blake and Kid Cudi show up on STOP TRYING TO BE GOD, with the legendary Stevie Wonder contributing harmonica towards the ending.

SKELETONS is absolutely stacked, with performances from Tame Impala (you can hear it in the synths), The Weeknd and Pharrell Williams. WAKE UP is a slow jam for the ladies, built around a guitar sample and another Weeknd vocal. 5% TINT uses a simple piano loop, but keeps it lively with its production and layering, ending with some divine and heavenly vocals and synths.

YOSEMITE sees a return of guitars, something that Travis Scott has shown an appreciation for. WHO? WHAT! features Offset and Quavo of the rap trio Migos, the latter of which Scott had released an album with as Jack Huncho in the previous year. COFFEE BEAN ends the album with a more old school-sounding R&B jam.

ASTROWORLD is fairly psychedelic, bringing one of my favourite styles of music into hip-hop, much like Kanye West and Kid Cudi had done earlier in the year with KIDS SEE GHOSTS, though I think that album executed it best. This album still flows nicely from start to finish, never feeling too long at 17 tracks. ASTROWORLD is a major improvement from its rushed predecessor and is more in line with the standard set by Rodeo.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Travis Scott on Discogs.

Back to the 2018 Album Guide or the Travis Scott Reviews pages.

Written by Brett Nippard