The Comeback is the latest addition to the booming genre of cloud-rap that is, for better or worse, taking over the internet’s darkest corners despite seemingly being in a bit of a rut of sorts at the moment, with its breakout stars Lil Uzi Vert and the already-gone artist Juice WRLD who is still somehow coming out with new albums, but that’s a discussion for another time. You have a pretty good idea by now with the kind of music I’m talking about: dreamy, reverb-soaked production that sounds like someone fed a vaporwave playlist into an old laptop with a bad attitude and then sprinkled a bit of auto-tune on top to make it sound like a robot having an existential crisis. And hey, maybe that’s exactly what we want. Maybe that’s exactly what we need. Maybe.
The Comeback opens with its title track which kicks off with very raw vocals and bass hits that sound like someone accidentally left a pair of headphones in the dryer and discovered that it’s a totally valid production method. Beyond the Midwest has a vocal performance that goes like he’s casually talking over your ear while scrolling through various social media applications, layering on pitch-shifted harmonies that echo around your skull like an aggressive ghost trying to be your friend. That sounds mean, but I assure you it’s not. Let me explain.
This album is essentially Beyond the Midwest’s diary set to trap production. It starts off heavy, like that first day back at work after vacation where you realize you’re not going to get a single moment of peace until you retire. This is the raw, chaotic mess of making sense of the madness in some way or another, tripping over your own feet on the way there, and still managing to get up.
Personally, while I don’t disagree with the ethos of this project, the biggest flaw of The Comeback comes from the sheer ubiquity of it all. It’s easy to listen to, sure, but easy in the way that fast food is: it fills you up for a second, but you’re hungry again in an hour, and you’re not really sure what you actually consumed. A lot of effort was put together to make tracks like Dust 2 Trust and Maybe Someday (to name my favorite tracks) sound like they’re as good as the standard tracks despite their DIY nature, and I personally would have liked to be able to hear the inverse of that more. Whether that be presenting odd riffs and rhythms or experimenting with sonic fidelities.
Given how earnest Beyond the Midwest is, I would love to see them create a project that opts to do something more than the basics, even if things are limited. Music in this genre is about the grit, the process, and the raw creative drive, even if it means pulling out weird sounds from yourself that no one knew were possible and aside from the detuned Future-verse-from-King’s-Dead intro of Letter to Myself that did not work for me, I don’t think this album really goes anymore above-and-beyond than I would’ve hoped.
I’m sure it was hard for them to even put this album together, let alone put it out, and what I respect most about this album is that it’s clearly about using whatever’s in one’s toolbox, even if it’s just him and his brain hunkering down and something that feels honest. Something that, hopefully, can connect with someone who’s also in the middle of trying to pick up the pieces. Because let’s face it, life is a mess, and it’s easier to just let it crush you and Beyond the Midwest wanted to put something out that says, “Hey, you’re going to fall down, but you can also get up and keep moving, even if you’re running on a steady diet of caffeine and existential dread.” I respect that idea. This album is making a case for your existence, and while that may be enough, The Comeback feels like it can come back even harder in different iterations. This can come back harder, faster, better, stronger. This can do more than exist.
It’s a very raw project, and there is charm to loving it, flaws and all. Call it tough love, but I think this album could go even more Beyond the Midwest, and I look forward to that. Definitely worth keeping tabs over.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
