Change the Record: Thundercat – “Distracted”

After two much longer reviews, I want to take it nice and easy this week. No double albums where I have to run down the histories of three distinct artists’ lives in a few words, like I’m speaking at a funeral and didn’t realize how many obituaries I had to read today, and no musicians with histories that read like a bad soap opera written by racist Fox News reporters. I am reviewing a simple album by a simple artist with a simple history.

Stephen Lee Bruner, known as Thundercat, is a funk, jazz, and psychedelic artist from Los Angeles. He has carved out a particular niche for himself in the zeitgeist of the modern indie sphere as an impeccably good bass player with a very distinct sense of humor. Despite a lengthy solo career dating back to 2011, Thundercat is mostly known for his collaborative work, frequently collaborating with artists such as Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar. He is an incredibly talented guy, and his work with other artists proves that in spades, but his solo career has never seemed to capture that distinct magic that made him such an enticing name to work with. His most successful solo work might be his 2017 album “Drunk,” which certainly had some gratifying highlights, but still felt mired in a certain blasé nature for the sound of the album. Thundercat, to me, always felt held back by a sort of slipshod approach to creating albums, in which they suffered from large amounts of filler surrounding the really good tracks, as well as his tendency to drown those tracks in muddy mixing.

With this new album, though, it finally feels like Thundercat has tapped into something a bit more exciting, even if he’s not the maestro I know he can become. “Distracted” caught my eye as I saw it getting fairly high praise from reviewers such as Pitchfork and The Needle Drop, and with glowing endorsements like that, I couldn’t help but indulge.

Starting with the positives, on “Distracted,” Thundercat makes far greater use of collaborations, featuring artists such as Tame Impala, A$AP Rocky, and Willow. That helps keep the album more varied than his usual repertoire, as it bounces between distinct voices to maintain momentum. Tracks like “She Knows Too Much,” featuring the late Mac Miller, and “What Is Left to Say,” featuring the Lemon Twigs, owe much of their appeal to the collaborations that spice things up, even if the latter track sounds like a full-on Steely Dan pastiche, proving that the line between homage and ripoff is as thin as a man on a crash diet. His solo tracks also carry that same unique energy, with songs like “Anakin Learns His Fate” and “A.D.D. Through the Roof” featuring bouncier beats and even more obtuse basslines.

Now, I should specify that despite the album’s greater attempts at variety, Thundercat still struggles at times to make his tracks distinct from one another, and I know I talk about this a lot, but I mean it. There was a moment when the album looped back to the beginning after finishing, and I legitimately didn’t realize I had heard the songs before until I heard Mac Miller, and realized the album really does sound the same. I know it seems like I want every album to be a unique combination of genres, where I’m lowering scores on Playboi Carti albums because he hasn’t made his death metal song yet, but all I ask is that the tracks stand out from one another more.

One thing that has improved is the songwriting. Thundercat has always been a unique and fun writer, even if he isn’t always saying much; here, it feels like he is actually tapping into a certain emotion. This feeling of driftless ennui and emotional isolation is rife with the worries and insecurities that come with it. “A.D.D. Through the Roof” specifically resonated with me deeply, as someone who lived with undiagnosed and untreated ADD for a really long time due to my own lack of motivation to deal with it.

Other highlights on the album include the bombastic yet tense “This Thing We Call Love,” featuring Channel Tres, the deeply absorbing and psychedelic “No More Lies,” featuring Tame Impala, and the more personal and low-key “Pozole.” Overall, despite my whining, it is an album I wholeheartedly recommend. The bass playing is as impeccable as ever, with Thundercat able to finger out every possible sound and effect from his bass. It’s a unique album with a unique voice behind it, and that is ultimately all you can really ask for these days.