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Spiderr

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Spiderr
Studio album by
Bladee
Released30 September 2022
Genre
Length31:19
LabelYear0001
Producer
Bladee chronology
Crest
(2022) 		Spiderr
(2022) 		Psykos
(2024)
Singles from Spiderr
  1. "Drain Story"
    Released: 15 September 2022

Spiderr is the sixth solo studio album by the Swedish rapper Bladee. It was released by Year0001 on 30 September 2022. Amidst touring North America and Europe with Drain Gang, Bladee released the collaborative album Crest with Ecco2K during March 2022, to critical praise. He then announced Spiderr on Instagram during September 2022, alongside the release of its lead single "Drain Story". It was produced by Whitearmor with contributions from Gud and Joakim Benon, and contains guest appearances from Ecco2K and Wondha Mountain. Spiderr is a pop and hip-hop album that builds upon his previous albums while using new sounds. It received acclaim from multiple publications; it was considered one of the best albums of the year by The Line of Best Fit and one of the best hip-hop albums of the year by Slant Magazine.

Background and release

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Bladee released his fifth studio album The Fool in May 2021, to praise from Pitchfork and laut.de.[1][2] Earlier in 2021, he worked with Charli XCX on the remix of his song "Drama" with Mechatok.[3] In March 2022, he released the collaborative studio album Crest with Ecco2K, which also received acclaim from Pitchfork and laut.de,[4][5] as well as from Anthony Fantano.[6] He also embarked on a tour across North America and Europe with Drain Gang throughout 2022.[7] On 15 September 2022, Bladee announced Spiderr on his Instagram story, where he uploaded a link to the music video of the album's only single "Drain Story".[8] The music video was directed, shot, and edited by Ecco2K.[8][9] "Icarus 3reestyle" also received a music video.[7] The Hebrew writing on its album cover means "Truth".[10] The album was released by Year0001 on 30 September 2022.[7] It was produced by Whitearmor, with contributions from Gud and Joakim Benon,[11] and contains guest appearances from Wondha Mountain and Ecco2K.[7]

Composition

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Overview

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Critics have described Spiderr as containing elements of pop music[12][13][14] and hip-hop.[14][15][16] Pitchfork's Colin Joyce said that it is "a vision of pop that’s grounded in real emotion but shrouded in otherworldly mystery".[12] Yannik Gölz from laut.de wrote that "sometimes you have to find the pop elements behind a very unusual façade".[13] Thejas Varma from The Michigan Daily thought the album "keeps up Bladee's consistent streak of electrifying twists on pop and hip-hop, building on previous works while incorporating new sounds".[14] Paul Attard of Slant Magazine called it a "for-the-fans affair that might make even the most die-hard of Drainers re-consider their unfailing loyalty" and that "some of the compositions are so chaotic that they feel like they're about to come apart at the seams".[17] Joyce wrote that "Spiderr works within a familiar palette of celestial synth arrangements and heavy-lidded, stream-of-consciousness emotion" and called it denser and more compelling than other releases by Drain Gang, "because it isn't purely euphoric; Bladee digs into the darker side of his existential meandering as well".[12] Gölz further wrote that the album "emulates the mood swings of its unstable protagonist, who is capable of great euphoria and great sadness behind the absent façade".[13]

Songs

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Spiderr's opening track is "Understatement", a chiptune and drill track that was compared to the 16-bit era by Attard.[17] It contains hi-hats, bass drops, "blocky audio textures", and Attard said it "sounds like it was filtered through a Super Nintendo console".[17][18] The track is about people not listening to what Bladee says properly, but still idolizing him.[13] The following "It's OK to Not Be OK" was called "assuring" by Fantano,[19] who also thought it contained "icy guitars and keys" and is a "sweet little motif".[19] "I Am Slowly but Surely Losing Hope" suddenly shifts to pop-punk[20] and explores themes of weakness, dejection, and despair.[12] Joyce said it is "one of the most tumultuous arrangements in Bladee's catalog to date", and that it pairs electronics with "ragged" guitars.[12] "Icarus 3reestyle" is a digicore song that contains distorted bass, "wailing" sirens, and a reference to the holy trinity.[17] Wondha Mountain features on "Nothingg", which consists of steel dancehall drums, and a hook that is sung in Mongolian.[13][17] The Fader's Raphael Helfand believed that "Blue Crush Angel" sees "Bladee taking a break from his seemingly constant search for innovation in favor of a return to old source material".[21] Incorporating "gloomy" synthesizers that are reminiscent of Yung Lean and the Sadboys, its lyrics use "cryptic aphorisms" that were described by Helfand as "Easter eggs".[21]

Speaking about the track "Disaster Prelude", Fantano describred it as having lo-fi production and thought that Bladee and Ecco2K's performances were not as lively as they were on Crest.[22] "Hahah" begins with Bladee repeating the phrase "I'm crazy" 50 times.[17] It contains "sparkling" synthesizers and a kissing sound effect, and ends with the line "I'm doing great".[13][17] "Drain Story" features stuttering and slithering synthesizers, stumbling percussion, boyish vocals, and breathy ad-libs.[9][12][17] Attard said it "sounds like a bunch of Bop Its being tossed down a flight of stairs", and that Bladee stutters during the opening lines, "like he's just gotten out of bed".[17] Fantano detailed "Velociraptor" as having "buzzing synthesizers" and "very aggressive perks", also highlighting its "crunched up guitar fragments".[23] He also said that Bladee's vocals are "animated" and called its lyrics "surreal poetry".[24] The following "Dresden ER" was compared to a church hymn by Attard, who also described it as a "sing-along".[17] It also contains the line "Life is but a joke", which Joyce believed was an example of Bladee trying to weaken the moving moments on the album.[12] The penultimate track "She's Always Dancing" explores the topics of reality and creation, and references Hebrew alongside the closing track "Uriel Outro".[13] Lyrically, the latter track sees Bladee praying to the "angel of artistic perfection", praising her, and asking for her blessing in his future work.[17]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
laut.de[25]
Pitchfork7.7/10[26]
The Needle Drop7/10[a]
Slant Magazine[17]

Spiderr received positive reviews from critics. For Slant Magazine, Attard called it "one of Bladee's most exciting releases to date" and that the album "makes a compelling argument for why his musicianship should be taken far more seriously". He further wrote that it "presents Bladee at the peak of his abilities".[17] Gölz from laut.de thought that "just as the sound world is very unique, Bladee is also increasingly differentiating his lyrical world" and said that "he is really good at musically is wallowing in fantasies like collages".[13] Writing for Pitchfork, Joyce thought that Bladee "re-establishes himself as a kind of musical mystic, unspooling hazy spiritual truths to an increasingly devoted cult of followers". While Fantano believed there were "some pockets that [he] was hoping for more from", he thought it proved Bladee's music to be versatile and overall enjoyed the album.[28]

The staff from The Line of Best Fit considered it the 36th best album of 2022. Sophie Walker wrote: "Every moment of this record feels like a transmission from another realm entirely, and it’s a privilege that Bladee is taking us with him". She further believed that "Spiderr feels like his most vulnerable, communicative project yet".[15] Slant Magazine included it in their list of "The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2022".[29]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Benjamin Reichwald and Ludwig Rosenberg, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Whitearmor, except where noted.

Spiderr track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Understatement"  3:08
2."It's OK to Not Be OK"  1:17
3."I Am Slowly but Surely Losing Hope"  2:33
4."Icarus 3reestyle"  2:06
5."Nothingg" (featuring Wondha Mountain)
  • Reichwald
  • Rosenberg
  • Odmunkh Natsagdorj
 3:06
6."Blue Crush Angel"  3:14
7."Disaster Prelude" (featuring Ecco2K)
1:57
8."Hahah"  2:16
9."Drain Story"  1:50
10."Velociraptor"  2:18
11."Dresden ER"  2:55
12."She's Always Dancing"
  • Whitearmor
  • Benon
1:48
13."Uriel Outro"  2:51
Total length:31:19

Notes

  • Track titles are stylised in all caps, with the exception of tracks 7, 10, and 12.
  • "It's OK to Not Be OK" is stylised without punctuation.
  • "Disaster Prelude" is stylised as "DiSASTER PRELUDE".

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the Year0001 website.[30]

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 30 September 2022
[31]

Notes

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  1. ^ Specifically, Fantano rated the album a "decent to strong 7".[27]

References

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  1. ^ Smith, Nadine (3 June 2021). "Bladee: The Fool Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  2. ^ Hacker, Malin (28 May 2021). "Der Drain Gang-Kronprinz legt ein TikTok-Tarot" [The Drain Gang crown prince lays down a TikTok tarot]. laut.de (in German). Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ Yoo, Noah (28 April 2021). "Charli XCX Joins Bladee and Mechatok for New "Drama" Remix: Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  4. ^ Smith, Nadine. "Bladee / Ecco2k: Crest". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  5. ^ Gölz, Yannik (18 March 2022). "Genesis als Cloud Rap-Drogentrip" [Genesis as a cloud rap drug trip]. laut.de (in German). Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  6. ^ Fantano 2022a, 7:09.
  7. ^ a b c d Buckle, Becky (30 September 2022). "Bladee drops new album 'Spiderr' via YEAR0001". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Bladee announces Spiderr album with new track 'Drain Story'". Dazed. 16 September 2022. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  9. ^ a b Li, Nicolaus (17 September 2022). "Bladee Announces Upcoming 'Spiderr' Album With "DRAIN STORY" Release". Hypebeast. Archived from the original on 17 September 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  10. ^ Darville, Jordan (30 September 2022). "The 15 projects you should stream right now". The Fader. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  11. ^ Joyce, Colin (4 October 2022). "Bladee: Spiderr Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Joyce, Colin (4 October 2022). "Bladee: Spiderr Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Gölz, Yannik (30 September 2022). "Vom Drainer-CEO zum Elfen-Hohepriester und zurück" [From Drainer CEO to elf high priest and back]. laut.de (in German). Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Varma, Thejas (6 October 2022). "'Spiderr' continues Bladee's hot streak". The Michigan Daily. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "The Best Albums of 2022 Ranked". The Line of Best Fit. 5 December 2022. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  16. ^ "The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2022". Slant Magazine. 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Attard, Paul (4 October 2022). "Bladee 'Spiderr' Review: A Deliriously Tumultuous Sugar Rush". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  18. ^ Fantano 2022b, 1:02.
  19. ^ a b Fantano 2022b, 1:39.
  20. ^ Fantano 2022b, 1:08.
  21. ^ a b Helfand, Raphael (3 October 2022). "Song You Need: Bladee returns to his Sadboy roots". The Fader. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  22. ^ Fantano 2022b, 2:17.
  23. ^ Fantano 2022b, 3:18.
  24. ^ Fantano 2022b, 3:28.
  25. ^ Gölz, Yannik (30 September 2022). "Vom Drainer-CEO zum Elfen-Hohepriester und zurück" [From Drainer CEO to elf high priest and back]. laut.de (in German). Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  26. ^ Joyce, Colin (4 October 2022). "Bladee: Spiderr Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  27. ^ Fantano 2022b, 5:00.
  28. ^ Fantano 2022b, 4:23.
  29. ^ "The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2022". Slant Magazine. 12 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  30. ^ "Blade - Spiderr". Year0001. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  31. ^ "Spiderr - Album by Bladee". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2024.

Video sources

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