Review of Ryan Dombal's "Yeezus" review

We all know that Kanye West doesn’t give a flying fuck. He doesn’t care that he is, most of the time, egregiously misogynist, racist, egotistical, crude, markedly unsuccessful or hip. Ryan Dombal exquisitely explains this concept on his Pitchfork review for West’s recent album “Yeezus,” breaking down the deeper reasons behind what makes the bizarre record so complex. Dombal discerns in a meaningful yet scatterbrained way through countless examples that from the “jarring electro acid house” production to the “heart-crushing” lyrics to its place in both West’s career and hip-hop music, “Yeezus” is much more intricate and original than most corporate-America-infused hip-hop shit—although it takes a few hundred words to get there.

Although the piece sheds educated light on the album in its context, the review doesn’t have strong opinion and doesn’t flow easily. Instead of a work of intricate criticism bringing the reader from A to B to C, the article reads more as an analytical and persuasive speech for “Random reasons why you should think twice before you diss the shit out of this album,” because each graph states an observation, backs it up with examples, analyzes it and moves on without much transition.

For example, Dombal starts the dissertation by poking fun at West’s buzzworthy track “I Am a God,” explaining that sure, we might immediately roll our eyes at the King of Ego’s attempt of outdoing himself, but at a second listen the track actually displays a “breathtakingly vexed” version of West. “Here, Kanye raps about loyalty, respect, threesomes, and, yes, croissants with the urgency of someone being chased by a 30-ton steamroller … pierced by a series of primal screams, pixelated outbursts … In Kanye's hands, being a god sounds stressful as hell, something we can all relate to.” By outlining the relationship between the track’s eerie production and lyrical topics, Dombal explains this unique release should be given a chance since it has relatable material to us mortals. He revisits this later when he brings up how West has consistently dared to make unusual music or how his lamenting of trials and tribulations with women provide a more self-conscious version of hip-hop, but the thesis is hidden and drifts off as a point-taken instead of standing as a strong overarching opinion.

He then breaks down “Yeezus” in context of West’s career. Rather than explaining who West is in a chronological way, he instead addresses how West has and hasn’t changed since we last heard from him in a deep yet thankfully comprehensible manner. He begins by stating that the “Chicago native has always been beguiled by the view from above,” and backs it up with examples from multiple lyrics of vintage Kanye tracks, and how the statement marries similar emotions of past albums; “The album is something of a razor-sharpened take on 2008’s distressed ‘808s & Heartbreak’ and marks a blunt break with the filigreed maximalism Kanye so thoroughly nailed on ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy;’” but juxtaposes it as well, “Meanwhile, XXX creeper ‘I'm In It’ sounds like a dancehall orgasm mired in quicksand and makes previous come-ons like ‘Slow Jamz’ come off like Disney theme songs.” Here, he’s explaining the growth of the man who made this record—but so what? Dombal uses these exceptional descriptions and deep connections to explain the hidden complexities behind “Yeezus,” but falls flat when he doesn’t take a clear stance, often using frustrating quips such as “Whether it's a meaningful stance or a blindly contrarian move is up for debate.”

Dombal completes the review without making a substantial lasting thought. He states how the “unlikely choices demonstrate how cohesion and bold intent are at a premium on ‘Yeezus,’ perhaps more than any other Kanye album,” and doesn’t leave us satisfied or motivated to listen, even though he gave it a “9.5, BEST NEW MUSIC.” He brings up again how innovative the both the album and it’s marketing are (a la army of dark vans lighting projections onto buildings around the world) but doesn’t explain what it even means or simply if its newfangled approach is enjoyable or not. It’s just different.