LIGHTYEARS - Jaron
Genre: Digicore, Future bass
In short: "cathartic Jaron music, now bundled with rap"
Genre: Digicore, Future bass
In short: "cathartic Jaron music, now bundled with rap"
Rating: 65
Cohesiveness: 67
Track quality: 76
Tags:
Beginner-friendly? i'd say no but you could argue otherwise
A surprise end-of-year Jaron album was not on my 2024 bingo card, and neither was Jaron rapping. But here we are.
His sophomore album is somewhat of a departure from his established style. Well, not quite; "LIGHTYEARS" still has that bombastic melodic production that Jaron is so beloved for, a production style accompanied by harsh mixing and explosions of bright synths and big snares. But Jaron brings with it a digicore rap style, a more hyperpop-influenced rap style. And I think this digicore sound—though he has shown hints of hyperpop leanings in previous works—just isn't for me, personally, because I struggle to get behind the weirdly breathy vocals and the "I'm the shit" lyricism in front of some glitchy trap beats (yeah, I think I prefer his house stuff). It's not that I dislike Jaron's vocals per se—in fact, his maturation as a vocalist is impressive, which is apparent in tracks like "ORANGES" and "SPINNING"—just that this style of music doesn't seem to gel well with me. Which is unfortunate, I suppose, since that's what the majority of the album consists of: overenthusiastic rapping; overenthusiastic lyrics; and slightly irritating adlibbing. Right from the title track "LIGHTYEARS", it feels like the same idea for the entire first half, which is great if you're into that idea, but not so great if you're not; even if the second half branches out a little more and feels a lot cleaner. But there is a silver lining to this grey cloud, and that silver lining is the aforementioned production. Jaron's production is fantastic. It's overblown, it's overwhelming, it's an elegantly violent scatterbomb of colourful destruction, and I love it for that. Jaron cranks up the pressure to max and the synths begin to blast out, and when the synths start blasting, when the vocals start crescendoing and when the whole track starts compressing into one giant cathartic outburst—those are the moments that, hyperpop-rapping or not, make "LIGHTYEARS" a genuinely impressive expression of emotion.
It's not the most technical thing ever, but "LIGHTYEARS" is one hell of a project. It's an album that shouts for attention, whether in the explosive production or the digicore rapping; whilst I do have polarizing opinions on the two, I am very excited as to where Jaron takes his talents next, because he's a one of a kind producer and "LIGHTYEARS" only lends to that further. I just hope it's not digicore.
| Name | Comments | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| BLOOD | A very Jaron intro, lots of ethereal synth pads—enjoyed this intro a lot | Structural |
| LIGHTYEARS | Very fast rap and very overwhelming production, lots of sound coming out all at once, though I can't really get behind the "YEAH" adlibs | Intense |
| PIECES | Not huge on this rap here, and unfortunately that's the majority of the track, so I guess I'm not a fan of the track | |
| WANTTTHIS | The rap, again, I'm not a fan, though it's growing on me—but the vocal sample carries the track so hard | Standout |
| SPIDER | It's this rap which I just cannot get behind again, nor the production, but I like the toned down back half a lot more | |
| a broken room | Very minimal, almost intermission-like break from all the chaos, with a simple guitar and simple vocals | Switchup |
| BUTTERFLY | The vocal samples and toned-down trap-esque production is cool | Laid-back |
| PROSPERITY | Felt unique and dark but also kind of mid, with the almost spoken rap and the strong basses and the "YEAH" adlib | Dark |
| SPINNING | Kind of a bop of a house tune, Jaron does a good job with his vocals and injects his thick synthy production, especially at the end | Switchup |
| ORANGES | Fuzzy little bass and plucky sound design, the vocals are good as well, and the vocal hook is funny | Standout |
| ONCE | I can't get along with the "JUMP JUMP" vocals, but I actually don't mind Jaron's rap here | Intense |
| ICARUS | Big grand production and harsh, prominent synthwork—don't care for the vocal, but the production sells it | Melodic |
| STARS | High-pitched vocals and a guitar motif, I enjoy the progression and the sound design is comparatively clean | Standout |