BROCKHAMPTON come across as more focused than ever in this release but they let themselves down by treading too much old ground and failing to live up to the cohesive standards set by their previous work.

Two years ago, after some turbulent years, BROCKHAMPTON released GINGER, an album that felt like a realised version of everything they had been working towards as a band. There were tracks that made you angry; there were tracks that made you cry. We heard powerful rap verses with gorgeous vocal melodies and an underlying theme that cut to the core. Unfortunately, this album went mostly unappreciated by both critics and fans. Pitchfork even deemed it worse than their previous record, Iridescence. In spite of this, the song Sugar seemed like a breakaway hit for the band, somehow helping them reach that billboard chart that they so desperately seemed to be pushing towards.

ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE feels like the answer to this runaway single success. Musically, this album is more focused; seemingly catering to that audience and at times delivering a hodgepodge of generic SUGAR clones, this stands as the greatest monument to BROCKHAMPTON’s boyband style. That’s not to say the album doesn’t have strong moments. BROCKHAMPTON’s music is at its best when at its most intimate. It’s this fragility that made ‘Ginger' such a powerful record.

The album kicks off to an admirable start with lead single ‘BUZZCUT (feat. Danny Brown)’. Sirens blaring, hooks glaring, and Danny Brown at his most dynamic and scathing: ‘You niggas ain't alpha, you're incels’. The music makes you feel like the police are chasing you down the street with its imagery of ‘doing time’ and its never-ending alarm bells ringing, curating a potently paranoiac atmosphere very efficiently. It’s a shame then that ‘CHAIN ON (feat. JPEGMAFIA)’ feels out of place following ‘BUZZCUT’, for whatever reason feeling more like some Gorillaz Song Machine-esque B-side. The music in this track is dull and repetitive; it’s one of the weakest tracks on the record and unfortunately detracts a lot from what the buzzing fervent opener ‘BUZZCUT’ creates.

‘COUNT ON ME’ was the second single from ROADRUNNER, a single that felt like a light ‘SUMMER’-tinged track. Unfortunately, this track falls victim to issues similar to those encountered by ‘CHAIN ON’. In an album context, it just doesn’t quite flow the way you would want it to. The track’s breeziness and glowing whistle melody make for a great foundation that never seems to reach its full potential, despite a promisingly catchy hook. Following ‘COUNT ON ME’, the album takes a much stronger turn. Some of the tracks to follow are perhaps BROCKHAMPTON’S best work and arguably most introspective. The moody atmosphere of ‘BANKROLL (feat. A$AP Rocky & A$AP Ferg), coupled with its self-reflective nature, leaves you with a sense of disillusionment from the artists. An evident disappointment in the nature of capitalism permeates the track, seemingly less angry about it and more sad. It’s refreshing hearing the disillusioned lyrics in this track depicting the woes and worries of wealth.

The next track ‘The Light’ has some of the best verses on the record and is one of many standout moments for Joba, who opens up about his current mental health following the tragic loss of his father from suicide. The lyricism here is soul-destroying, with palpable desperation in his delivery. Musically, the guitars twang and bend around the slowly building chord progression before the chorus comes through and Kevin Abstract takes over, sharing how he ‘still struggles telling his mom who I’m in love with’. It’s this openness that defines this track. And it’s this borderline-emo nature that BROCKHAMPTON have cultivated since Iridescence that shines strongest within the band on this project.

On the next track ‘WINDOWS feat. SoGone SoFlexy’ BROCKHAMPTON bare their hearts. The beats are thick and full, synths wobble and squeak as horns whine and moan. Dom McLennon shares trouble with addiction, how he’d ‘wake up breakin' up an eighth just to function’. Lyrically Joba’s verse continues the trend from ‘BANKROLL’, dissatisfaction with capitalism and money: ‘Capitalistic greed, plague our society, like COVID-19, Those dirty hands that feed don't buy it, Government officials, don't give a fuck about the children, What do you believe? Nothing's ever what it seems 'til you can't deny it’. The repetitive mentions of windows stand as metaphor, stressfully warning of time running out and depicting the voyeuristic side of fan-artist relationships.

The next two tracks feel, sadly, like they’re ripping off fan favourite SUGAR. The lyrics on ‘I’LL TAKE YOU ON’ are weak and the melody feels derivative. It’s only the last 40 seconds of the track that seem unique. ‘Old News’ is the worst of these two tracks being incredibly forgettable.

‘WHAT’S THE OCCASION?’ is a sombre ballad where Joba once again shines through strongest with his heavenly vocals. The ending here feels almost Beach Boys-inspired. There’s something undeniably epic about the way it ends even if at times the melody feels simple. At least ‘WHEN I ROLL’ has an authentic confidence about it that feels absent at times on BROCKHAMPTON tracks. It’s a confidence in intimacy and openness. There’s something so heartbreaking about Joba’s delivery on the chorus and that bridge towards the end of the track is a real standout moment.

It would be the following track that would offset this more vanilla run of songs. ‘DON’T SHOOT UP THE PARTY’ comes as a surprise banger after such a lengthy streak of intermittently basic offerings. The way the repetitive ‘please don’t shoot up the party!’ blares throughout the track provides an astoundingly strong hook. This only builds, slowly, with thumping kick drums; meanwhile, Kevin and Joba’s vocals are killing it, perhaps even channeling a little Andre 3000.

‘DEAR LORD’, the penultimate track, is a stark diversion following ‘DON’T SHOOT UP THE PARTY’. Feeling more gospel-influenced than anything else, it’s a track that might prompt you to think of it as disingenuous on the first listen but, after some time, it’s hard to not enjoy the harmonies amongst the group. It’s a stylistic diversion that knew what it was doing and provides a useful introduction to the upcoming final track, ‘THE LIGHT PT. II’. In some senses, it mirrors ‘VICTOR ROBERTS’, GINGER’s own closer. Its slow build, coupled with the directed vocal delivery that seems pointedly spoken to the listener, prove for a sufficient close to a competent album. 

It’s not that ROADRUNNER is a step backward for BROCKHAMPTON. It’s simply that the band seem deflated. At times, it feels like the band is broken and directionless. At other times you’re like “Wow this is some of the best work they’ve ever put out”. The unfortunate ratio of notable tracks to weak tracks on this record is where things seem to fall apart, even when those stronger tracks are shining examples. There’s little stringing this album together, especially in terms of its musical style, unless we’re counting ‘SUMMER’-core as the motif. In fact, perhaps if not for a few standout performances from Joba, Dom McLennon and Kevin Abstract, this record would be noticeably weaker than any of their previous records to date.