Timothy Gabriele: Here’s what I was hoping for back when cloud rap first exploded into the collective consciousness. Less slapdash, more professional, but still taking serious a bit of that old woozy wobbly. Better late than never I guess. Is this actually prog hop though? There’s that changeup in the middle, coupled with the fact that their album is called Evermore: The Art of Duality, which would elicit loud shouts of “waaaanker” were it a bunch of white dudes who were classically trained and had at least one member with a pony tail. Still, it’s hard not to get down with this, which seems to exist in some liminal zone between the street and the astral plane. We’re not going to overlook this line “I’m coming for the globe like I’m Adolph”, though, right? [7/10]
John Bergstrom: You don’t get this kind of woozy, space-rock vibe very often in hip-hop. The choral sample that runs through the second half adds a layer of real melancholy. Yet it’s not pretentious. Too bad the standard-issue video fails to do it justice. [7/10]
John Garratt: The era of computer-assisted DIY has made it possible for everyone to coat their art with a somewhat professional looking/sounding varnish. Yet everything about “Star Signs” is very, very sloppy. I wish I were just talking about the visuals. As one dude spat out, “When I listen to you I don’t even get a buzz.” [4/10]
Steve Horowitz: Ho hum. The next generation of rappers reach back to old skool shit and come up with shit. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you. There’s nothing new here. That’s intentional to a point, but there’s also an unpleasant niceness to the vibe — like one has to clean up Flatbush to really show its true character. The rappers grunt-speak their way through outer space, but they’d be better off staying in Brooklyn. [6/10]
Dustin Ragucos: “Star Signs” is filled with novice rapping that those with fewer than a thousand plays on Soundcloud would grace music pluggers with. “Generation Z”, however, has a throbbing bass and a rhythm that feels more like it fits in a goofy montage rather than something serious. AK has some good lines, referencing Hades and having an eyebrow-raising bit about a giant smoking beanstalks. The two really need to stop the whole believing they’re gods shtick. [6/10]