Perfect Hair (album) explained
Perfect Hair is a studio album by American rapper Busdriver.[1] It was released on September 9, 2014, by Big Dada.[2] The album features guest appearances from Aesop Rock, Danny Brown and Open Mike Eagle, among others.[3] The cover art was painted by John Lurie.[4] Music videos were made for "Ego Death",[5] "Colonize the Moon",[6] "Eat Rich"[7] and "Motion Lines".[8]
On June 20, 2014, "Ego Death" was chosen by Consequence of Sound as one of their Top 10 Songs of the Week.[9]
Critical reception
Perfect Hair received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 10 reviews.
Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound said: "Wild, insanely ambitious, and a bit inconsistent, Perfect Hair encodes and decodes the ideas, opinions, and deconstructions that can only come from Farquhar's brain." David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "Perfect Hair contains all the usual reasons Busdriver is wonderful, just with a little more sugar baked in." Grant Brydon of Clash said, "The rollercoaster ride of his delivery makes it an enjoyable experience rather than a textbook headache." Matt Bauer of Exclaim! said, "A few duds abound, like the wearisome "Eat Rich", but the album ends strongly with the sci-fi-flavoured "Colonize the Moon". Jack Dutton of musicOMH said, "Although this album is at times a difficult listen, you can't help but admire Busdriver for his innovation and general wackiness." Nathan Stevens of PopMatters said, "Perfect Hair is no doubt a great album, but its tendency to fidget between ideas leaves it the idea of cohesion in a shallow grave."
Track listing
Notes
- "Retirement Ode" features uncredited vocals by Terra Lopez
- "Bliss Point" features uncredited saxophone by Ben Wendel
- "Colonize the Moon" includes a bonus track at 5:13, called "Bone Structure" featuring Open Mike Eagle
- "Joyce 1" features uncredited vocals by Joelle Le and Riley Lake
- "King Cookie Faced (for Hellfyre)" features uncredited vocals by Terra Lopez and Joelle Le
Notes and References
- Web site: Busdriver Keeps Pushing Boundaries, More Than Anyone in Hip-Hop. LA Weekly. Chaz. Kangas. September 3, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140907100400/http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2014/08/29/busdriver-keeps-pushing-boundaries-more-than-anyone-in-hip-hop. September 7, 2014.
- Web site: Busdriver "Perfect Hair" Release Date, Cover Art, Tracklist, Album Stream & Tour Itinerary. HipHopDX. Soren. Baker. September 5, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140906171716/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.30507/title.busdriver-perfect-hair-release-date-cover-art-tracklist-album-stream-tour-itinerary/. September 6, 2014.
- Web site: Hear Busdriver's Prickly Collab with Danny Brown and Aesop Rock – "Ego Death" heralds 'Perfect Hair' album, due September 9 on Big Dada. Spin. Colin. Joyce. June 16, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140907095644/https://www.spin.com/2014/06/busdriver-ego-death-perfect-hair-danny-brown-aesop-rock-stream/. September 7, 2014.
- Web site: Busdriver Teams With Danny Brown and Aesop Rock for "Ego Death" – From Busdriver's new album Perfect Hair. Pitchfork. Molly. Beauchemin. June 16, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140911133203/http://pitchfork.com/news/55576-busdriver-teams-with-danny-brown-and-aesop-rock-for-ego-death/. September 11, 2014.
- Web site: Busdriver "Ego Death" (ft. Aesop Rock and Danny Brown) (video). Exclaim!. Josiah. Hughes. July 10, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140914024033/http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/busdriver-ego_death_ft_aesop_rock_danny_brown_video. September 14, 2014.
- Web site: Busdriver Heads Into Space to Rap and "Colonize the Moon". Vice. Kyle. Kramer. July 23, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306075708/http://noisey.vice.com/blog/busdriver-colonize-the-moon-video-premiere. March 6, 2016.
- Web site: Busdriver, "Eat Rich". Impose. Blake. Gillespie. September 15, 2014. November 12, 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151010223028/http://www.imposemagazine.com/tv/busdriver-eat-the-rich. October 10, 2015.
- Web site: Dive into Busdriver's kaleidoscopic 'Motion Lines' video. Entertainment Weekly. Miles. Raymer. October 14, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160605234242/http://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/14/busdriver-motion-lines-video. June 5, 2016.
- Web site: Top 10 Songs of the Week (6/20). Consequence of Sound. Michael. Madden. June 20, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140907100414/https://consequence.net/2014/06/top-10-songs-of-the-week-620/full-post/. September 7, 2014.
