WZRD

WZRD

It’s been a while since we’ve last heard from Kid Cudi. After taking some time off after Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager and getting sober, Cudi returns in 2012 for what he hopes to be a big year. His first release of the year is under the name WZRD, a psych-rock collaboration between himself and producer Dot Da Genius (who also co-produced Kid Cudi’s first two Man on the Moon albums).

There’s no sugarcoating it: this is a pretty bad album. Which it is. Cudi even admitted that he suffered from writer’s block for 5 months before he started writing for WZRD. That struggle is evident in the corny lyrics delivered in the first few songs, “High Off Life” and “The Dream Machine.” Gone are the days of the lonely stoner. These songs celebrate Cudi’s sobriety as he realizes that he can make it without marijuana in his life, which is fine. But, the lyrics here seem so weak and cliché that it really drags down the album, which is especially perilous for a new band on their first album.

As the album meanders onward, the first decent song comes in the form of “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” with it’s catchy hook and sampling of “Under Your Spell” by Desire. After that, Cudi delivers a patchy and impossible-to-live-up-to cover of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” by Lead Belly. Nirvana should’ve been the last band to cover that song, seeing as how they even outdid the original.

All this wouldn’t even be that bad if the instrumentals were halfway tolerable. Which they weren’t. Every song on Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day had an incredibly catchy beat and was much more different than any other mainstream hip-hop artist. That’s what made his album so great (and the fact that it was a clever concept album, which I’m a sucker for). Unfortunately, Cudi can’t translate that unique sound into alternative rock. None of the tracks wee able to stand out in a good way here. Every track sounds half-baked (pun intended) and unmemorable.

I’ll never knock a guy for going to rehab to fix an addiction. In fact, I commend Kid Cudi for taking control of his life and realizing that he needed to change his habit. It’s just too bad his songwriting muse had to hit the road with the marijuana. But who knows, maybe Cudi has since found his groove and will be able to redeem himself with Man on the Moon III later this year.

Recommended Tracks: “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie”