{"id":54180,"date":"2018-11-08T16:02:43","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T16:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/?p=54180"},"modified":"2018-11-12T13:45:44","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T13:45:44","slug":"album-review-yung-lean-poison-ivy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/2018\/11\/08\/album-review-yung-lean-poison-ivy\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Yung Lean &#8211; Poison Ivy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yung Lean\u2019s latest release, <em>Poison Ivy, <\/em>is a dive into an exquisitely curated selection of synths, beats, and his trademark monotone vocals. The mixtape is an apparent development of the more personal and melancholic tones seen in the likes of its predecessor,\u00a0<em>Stranger<\/em>. The careful mixing and production by Whitearmor is full of deep layering and echoes of specific sounds. The duo have collaborated on almost all of Lean\u2019s releases and <em>Poison Ivy <\/em>shows just why the combination has lasted. Whitearmor\u2019s production, combined with Lean\u2019s vocals, creates something that feels hypnotic and entrancing.<\/p>\n<p>Lean\u2019s trademark vocals kick off the EP in the form of lead single, \u2018happy feet\u2019. The rhythmic quality to his voice is composed over low keys and synths before the chorus sets in with its repetitive but catchy lyric: \u201cDiamonds dance like Happy Feet but happy ain\u2019t my set\u201d \u2013 a reference to his rap crew Sad Boys and their increasing wealth, injecting energy into the record.<\/p>\n<p>In a continuation of this strong opening is \u2018friday the 13th\u2019, which forms a tribute to Lean\u2019s late manager Barron Machat who died in a car accident three years ago. The melancholic rhymes are set over fast-paced trap beats before launching into the hook. While the EP features little difference in terms of individual track style (each songs sounds relatively similar), the record is still a cohesive development in Lean&#8217;s career.<\/p>\n<p>Another standout is \u2018silicon wings\u2019, which features a further intensely catchy hook \u2013 Lean\u2019s self-admitted speciality. The Swedish singer recites \u201cTwo hundred stacks before the day begins,\u201d set to a combination of thrumming beats and synths that allow the listener to once more relish in Whitearmor\u2019s production talents.<\/p>\n<p>Lean finishes the slick EP with my personal favourite, \u2018bender++girlfriend\u2019. With refreshing honesty, Lean mixes classic rap references to drugs and money, with lyrics that are a just a bit heart-wrenching. The loveliness of \u201cWe all get lost sometimes but I surrender\u201d is followed by the somewhat intimate, all too personal repetition of \u201cI\u2019m scared when you fall, we cannot fall, she fell asleep on my arm.\u201d This vulnerability draws to mind previous works from the rapper such as \u2018Agony\u2019 and \u2018Yellowman\u2019. The track is an excellent finisher that allows us to hear a more personal and developed side to the young artist.<\/p>\n<p>More talented and emotionally poignant than his 22 years might suggest, the new more melancholic angle is an interesting change of direction from the rapper. The beat-drenched vocals, smooth lyrics and incredible production from Whitearmor leave you just wishing the 23-minute record was longer.<\/p>\n<p>Rating: 8\/10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jasmine Bennett reviews Yung Lean&#8217;s latest EP, Poison Ivy, which offers up eight-tracks of melancholic vocals and rhythmic beats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1814,"featured_media":54711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4029,23328,6761,19687],"coauthors":[21846],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54180"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1814"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54180"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mancunion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=54180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}