Imagination & The Misfit Kids - Album Review

When talking about top 5 artists, most creative or most experimental artists Labrinth is something less than an afterthought. When he first came out with 'Beneath You're Beautiful' featuring Emeli Sande everyone took him for the love song, ballad type of musician, and that he was. But, that's a thing of the past.

Imagination & The Misfit Kids is Labrinth's second studio album, sung and produced entirely by him and what an album it is. The beats are raw and aggressive as they attempt to rip your soul out. They are combinations of African-American gospel, RocknRoll, some 60s funk, electronic, grime, and synth. His singing isn't exactly singing, it leans more towards shouting but it somehow fits in well with the music. As for the lyrics, this might be the most honest an artist has ever been on the topic of fame. He goes through the issues of selling his imagination/soul for love and money but mostly for his family.

The intro song is a little goofy but it pretty much sets up the rest of the album. He tells us about his imagination and his being able to live on it alone. Even the dreamy synth instrumental supports this idea and gets you more interested in what the album might hold.

It is not until the song 'Dotted Line/Juju Man' where he gets more tongue-in-cheek about the message he is trying to put out. The song is basically Labrinth being persuaded by corporates to sign a recording deal. He is reminded of his needs, his responsibility to feed his mother and his dream of being a big-time artist, in return he has to sell them his imagination/soul. All of this is being discussed over a grime beat with startling low-pitched piano chords.

Zendaya makes a sweet, sweet feature on the song 'All For Us'. The original song was changed a little so that it could be used for the HBO series Euphoria but it still maintains the theme of the album. Again, Labrinth sacrifices himself for the drug called fame. He enlists the help of Steve Mac and The Essence which gives the song an African-American Gospel touch. The beat itself is rough and helter-skelter and has chipmunk background vocals that add rather than subtract from the song. The synth sequences is a standout

Throughout the album, Labrinth has been telling us about the sacrifices he's made, the reasons and the consequences. It's only on the song 'Mount Everest' where we get a glimpse of him giving in to the fame drug. On the song, he tells of how he feels like he is on top of the world, having money, and the subsequent power it comes with. This is the most epic song on the record and everything that has to do with it is epic. The piano comes in with heavy, terrifying chords accompanied by a rimshot. The entire song feels like driving at breakneck speeds on a summer night with the windows.

The record eventually comes to its resolution with the song 'Oblivion'. In the song, Labrinth describes something that resembles depression and reveals that he doesn't really want this fame that he finds himself in. It's also the most interesting instrumental.

This is a mastery album that boasts a lot of creative energy and a peek at Labrinth's personal feelings about where he is in relation to fame. It seems as though he still can not believe the position he finds himself in. He is still grounded though and is aware of what fame entails. He showcases self-awareness on the song 'Like a Movie' where he says he is going to make some fake friends and surround himself with yes-men. All-in-all, the album is a good listen, a little on the loud side but the music combined with the lyrics is worthwhile.