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Homegrown looks at Rumari’s debut album 'IDENTITY CRISIS!', an 11-track hyperpop record shaped by self-doubt, situationships, self-sabotage and the messy process of figuring yourself out. After leaving his corporate job and moving to New York to pursue music, the artist turns emotional chaos into blown-out bass, metallic synths, glitchy drums and auto-tuned vocals.
In the utopian land of Mamdanistan — where Amazon has been made to cough up more than $9 million in fines, 175,000 potholes have been filled, rents have actually been frozen, and childcare has been made free for thousands of families — dreams do come true. The air sparks with endless possibility, I’ve heard. It’s bright and warm like hope; all sunshine and rainbows, says the internet. Homegrown artist Rumari, who quit his corporate job and moved to New York to make the music thing work, has been blessed by the same sparkle evident as it is in his debut album IDENTITY CRISIS!
Across 11 tracks, blown-out bass, metallic synths, and silky, auto-tuned vocals over glitchy drums make the sweetness of pop constrast with something anxious underneath… an overstimulated pop… Hyperpop! (I get it now) Like a euphoric but unhinged emotional breakdown under strobing club lights. There’s insecurity, expectations, self-sabotage and uncertainties in the mix, alongside a growing sense that he’s done letting other people — or his own hang-ups — run the show.
Misguided, second-guessing, with his head turned inside-out with doubt, Rumari’s going THROUGH it on JADED and TIME. The purgatory of mixed signals and on-again-off-again shenanigans on ASSOCIATION & CHIMERA really breaks down situationships for us — a loss of self-esteem and sanity — a slap across our face (when we continue to allow it), which the punchy breakbeats and 808s do a great job of physicalizing. But hey, MATURITY is realizing, “I got shit to do”, and weathering whatever it takes, even an IDENTITY CRISIS! to get your swagger back. Nothing like the fog of an intoxicating attachment lifting to let some sunlight in.
This transformation happens a little too easily over the course of the album, which could arguably do without some of the tracks that feel like fillers. Rumari has still managed to craft an exciting, unique sound that cuts through the noise with authenticity, drive and a whole lot of fun. IDENTITY CRISIS! may not be a no-skip but it’s charming enough to make us keep an eye out for what comes next from the artist.
Follow Rumari here and listen to the album below:
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