Drunk
by Thundercat
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 97 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 85 out of 97
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 97
  3. Negative: 4 out of 97
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  1. Maxlebaka
    Jun 25, 2023
    10
    One of my favourite albums of all time. Thundercat did an amazing job on this album
  2. Diego_19
    Jan 31, 2023
    7
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  3. Da_men
    Jun 6, 2022
    8
    It's rare time when I immediately wanna to write something about my impressions of any conceptual arts. I had my first strange meeting with this album when I was scrolling tracklist of "To pimp a butterfly". I had known something about him before, but only in this time I decided to listen his creation. I was young and just didn't understand the unique wibe of album. After about one and aIt's rare time when I immediately wanna to write something about my impressions of any conceptual arts. I had my first strange meeting with this album when I was scrolling tracklist of "To pimp a butterfly". I had known something about him before, but only in this time I decided to listen his creation. I was young and just didn't understand the unique wibe of album. After about one and a half years I came back to this thing to understand bad is it or not. For my the greatest surprise it was smooth jazz experimental album with non-repeatable style. A lot of sound by bass guitar, synthesizers and etc...
    but for me it's a big loss that there isn't piano sound enough. Only on three tracks were short but great part of piano, otherwise it's seems like jazz experience is not full. What's about sing part? How said one man on metacritic, on the album:"Tcat have the same style of singing everywhere",- but it's not true on 100 per. I can agree that autotune is similar everywhere (it's not true, but, okay, we'll not care), but he was often different on every track. Maybe user wanted to say that the motive of songs is the same and it has sence, because it's true. Three songs: Rabbot Ho (intro), Captain Stupido (song after intro) and DUI (outro) have the same melody, Captain Stupido and Show You The Way have same singing tact. A lot of songs of this album have similiar bass guitar. I think this head reason why people can hate it. If you don't like one song, you may not like to 40-50 percent of stuff of all album (or even all creation by Tcat). You could think all album is boring because it's monotonous but no! Throw this though into trash backet. The wibe of the album can or make your sad night after busy day at work, school or something else or be boring trash experiment. One thing that you must do: listen it and make your own opinion about it. Don't have anything beforehand about the album in your mind and may be this creation will make you happy today.    … Expand
  4. clem666
    Aug 6, 2020
    3
    I honestly tried my best on this one. I must have listen to the entire album for 5 or 6 times, with pauses, day and night, but nothing exceptional came to me... It truly sounds like an experimental album. I don't have anything against experimental albums but 'Drunk' goes way too far. Some tracks ring a bell inside of me and turn out to be catchy, funny, devilish or all three at once.I honestly tried my best on this one. I must have listen to the entire album for 5 or 6 times, with pauses, day and night, but nothing exceptional came to me... It truly sounds like an experimental album. I don't have anything against experimental albums but 'Drunk' goes way too far. Some tracks ring a bell inside of me and turn out to be catchy, funny, devilish or all three at once. Thundercat successfully manages to reunite amazing artists to help him through his project. And we all have to admit some of them just save the track they are invited on. Some moves are really ingenious and jazz pieces are sometimes greatfully included in the tracks.
    Still 'Drunk' appears to me as an *effing* endless project. Thundercat voice doesn't change a single time. Always remains creamy and soft, but so soft it strangely becomes painfully boring. Ok, the guy can "rap", sing and whistle but I'm sorry to inform you that that's not enough to satisfy me. Once again, other artists bring some variety in this mess, thank god. Another thing is that 'Drunk' has absolutely no continuity. The sequencing of the tracks is such that they seem to have been produced without any link between them. We are just toss in this indescriptible mess of notes, sounds, bursts of voice and instruments until death, madness or the loooong-awaited end of the album comes to free you from this pile of musical rubbish.
    Please don't get me wrong: I think 'Drunk' is a cool album. Just for people who are consuming a lot of drugs and/or are as crazy as Thundercat. Unfortunately it's not my case. It constantly feels like i went too far out of my comfort zone on this one. As I said I made an effort to listen to this album (and many times), but it feels like the album just didn't make a single step in my direction and chose to remain wierd, distant and sometimes even causing me severe headaches. It balanced several times between 'ok' and 'awful' kind of art. That's regrettable. However I can't wait to listen to other albums of Thundercat, hoping this one was the strangest and the most experimental one. In this case everyone deserves a second chance.
    (I just noticed I was the first negative written review on 'Drunk' so I hope my opinion will enlighten more people than it will drive them crazy)    … Expand
  5. Kloot1rr
    Jul 2, 2020
    9
    What artist do you know who can put Kendrick Lamar & Michael McDonald on the same album in 2017? Thundercat is your man. With funky bass, heartfelt & well-placed comedic lyrics, & a great use of features, Thundercat comes through with one of the most impressive albums of the year. "Bus in These Streets" gives a social critique of technology with Todd Rundgren vibes, while "Them Changes"What artist do you know who can put Kendrick Lamar & Michael McDonald on the same album in 2017? Thundercat is your man. With funky bass, heartfelt & well-placed comedic lyrics, & a great use of features, Thundercat comes through with one of the most impressive albums of the year. "Bus in These Streets" gives a social critique of technology with Todd Rundgren vibes, while "Them Changes" provides a modern take on heartbreak. A must listen of 2017.
    Best Tracks: THEM CHANGES, Bus In These Streets, Show You The Way    … Expand
  6. Andremax
    Jul 12, 2018
    9
    The most electronic album by Thundercat, but without put aside R&B groove, Jazz technique, humor, creative experimental moments and, principally, amazing basslines.
  7. L0UI5
    Apr 15, 2018
    9
    9/10.......................................................................
  8. DavidWasHere
    Dec 12, 2017
    7
    A lot of what makes Thundercat such a cool artist is here. Colorful and groovy mix of jazz, R&B, electronic, and 80s soft-rock, fantastic rhythm and basslines, and a fun personality, Drunk is an intoxicating mix of some stellar songs like Friend Zone, Tokyo, and Show You the Way (which features yacht rock kings Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins). However as intoxicating and ethereal asA lot of what makes Thundercat such a cool artist is here. Colorful and groovy mix of jazz, R&B, electronic, and 80s soft-rock, fantastic rhythm and basslines, and a fun personality, Drunk is an intoxicating mix of some stellar songs like Friend Zone, Tokyo, and Show You the Way (which features yacht rock kings Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins). However as intoxicating and ethereal as this album is, it does wear it's welcome down after the second half, making the album a lot longer than needed. And also making me hate Thundercat's weak falsetto, something that I never wanted to do but dear lord it happened! It also would have helped if Thundercat mixed up the tracklist and added some jams instead of draggy ballads that were leftovers of forgotten B-Sides to 80s singles. It's still a great album overall, but nowhere as good as his past work.… Expand
  9. BlownSpeakers
    Jun 21, 2017
    7
    Thundercat has always put his bass prowess front and center- whether he’s collaborating with long time partner Flying Lotus or laying down tracks of his own, his hyper drive playing is unmistakable. On his latest effort, Drunk, he continues to blend funk, electronica, and hip hop into soulful goodness, but these new tracks echo with a certain vibrancy that wasn’t there before. TheThundercat has always put his bass prowess front and center- whether he’s collaborating with long time partner Flying Lotus or laying down tracks of his own, his hyper drive playing is unmistakable. On his latest effort, Drunk, he continues to blend funk, electronica, and hip hop into soulful goodness, but these new tracks echo with a certain vibrancy that wasn’t there before. The slathered-on synths, accompanied by his soothing falsetto, culminates in a sound that splashes with neon color; a sound that will conjure images of cats shooting lasers or He-Man riding a tiger though space.

    More often than not, this animated sound is matched by cheeky lyrics from a faded Thundercat, a caricature of himself that’s content to drink his problems away. This approach is hilarious on tracks like “Tokyo,” where he details his obsession with anime, and “A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song: Part II)," where he ponders the awesomeness of being a cat. Unfortunately, the album is also littered with tracks where he winks too hard at the listener (“Jameel’s Space Ride," "Show You The Way," “Drink Dat”).

    Thundercat is also able to find humor in rejection on “Friend Zone,” a song detailing his confusion with how his biggest female fan doesn’t want to give him some of that good-good. Is it because of how he wears his hair or is it because he loves playing Diablo? We’ll never know; but what is clear is that it’s one of the best tracks on this album. With its hypnotic synth loop and ridiculous chorus, this track will be on repeat in your head for days.

    From here, the album hits its stride with an immaculate transition into “Them Changes.” The track continues his focus on rejection, but there’s more at stake here than pride- it’s his heart. “Nobody move, there’s blood on the floor/And I can’t find my heart.” This line is universally relatable in how it captures heartache feeling like a fresh wound, one that has your guts spilling all over the floor. What’s especially genius here is how the mysterious guitar and bass follow Thundercat’s hurt questioning- “Where were you when I needed you the most?”

    Although Drunk hits a lot more than it misses, when it does miss, it strikes out hard. The tracks that completely fall on their face are the more “serious” numbers that deal with themes of life and death. The only track of the bunch that succeeds in its intentions is “Jethro,” but the rest suffer from lyrics that are so haphazardly slapped together, that the songs come off as stream of conscious napkin scribblings (“Inferno,” “Blackkk”). What makes matters worse is that a lot of these songs are clumped together at the last third of the album. So, what could have been an excellent record, comparable to his previous LP, Apocalypse, ends up being “pretty good” because of its lackluster ending.

    The interludes on Drunk are as equally problematic. To put it simply, there’s too many of them. “Jameel’s Space Ride” is pointless and thinks it’s funnier than it really is, while the back to back “I am crazy” and “3 am” attempt to further the album’s theme of drunkenness, but just end up bogging down the album’s already underwhelming climax. Let’s put it this way- if the great tracks on this album are the ones that make the listener feel like they’re going on a drunken space ride with Thundercat, the interludes would be the asteroids the shuttle hits along the way.

    Drunk clocks in at 51 mins and 24 secs, but with the right trimming and track transition, the album would have fared better at a briskly paced 35 mins. Nonetheless, this album is still a great choice for hotboxing in your friend’s car, drinking at a house party, or just plain getting funky with the suds in your shower. Just make sure to do some strategic track skipping and you’re sure to have fun with a faded Thundercat.    … Expand
  10. Music_Observer
    May 16, 2017
    7
    Style and sophistication ooze effortlessly from this album, and while at times the sound became too monotonous, perhaps to try and enhance the presence of the vocal lead, the smoothness never faltered throughout, especially in the free-jazz and more avant garde textures. My Score: 133/180 (Solid) = 7.4/10
  11. Palinodia
    Apr 15, 2017
    8
    Wonderful album. Thundercat is a musical genius. I like the composition and the wonderful - moody mix of jazz - fusion - hip hop. One of the best albums that dropped this year.
  12. zabboo
    Mar 4, 2017
    9
    A funky and hilarious critique and observation of society that gives the listener some major insight into the mind of one of music's most exciting eccentrics.
  13. neothinker
    Feb 27, 2017
    8
    Gurgly, messy, and matter of fact are some adjectives I can think of for this album. It's hilarious to listen too, but that can actually distract from the easy listening R&B that it provides.
  14. SeedyROM
    Feb 26, 2017
    9
    A wonderful almost hour of smooth grooves, soaring melodies, and tastefully crafted bass lines. Taking the best of all 2017's "pop"/R&B music has to offer and throwing in the Brainfeeder experimental jazz/beat type music that's made them well known. Incredible from start to finish, especially for those who are familiar with his work already.

    Would advise a solid listen, a couple spliffs    A wonderful almost hour of smooth grooves, soaring melodies, and tastefully crafted bass lines. Taking the best of all 2017's "pop"/R&B music has to offer and throwing in the Brainfeeder experimental jazz/beat type music that's made them well known. Incredible from start to finish, especially for those who are familiar with his work already.

    Would advise a solid listen, a couple spliffs and of course some alcohol.    … Expand
  15. Theycallmejhonn
    Feb 25, 2017
    10
    Great Fusion between hip hop, R and B inspired production and psychedelic jazz instrumentation, combined with groovy melodies and great features on all the album
  16. HugoPavi
    Feb 25, 2017
    8
    An album that sacrifices cohesion to drown itself in its myriad of influences and ideas, maybe, but frankly, who cares when the music is this zany and flat-out fun to listen to. Propelled along of course by that signature FlyLo/Thundercat sound of jazz fusion that we've come to know and love!
  17. foreverAlfon
    Feb 24, 2017
    9
    A masterful mix of jazz, funk, humor and psych that works as the most enjoyable astral trip. This is, possibly, one of the best albums we listen in all year.

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Most Discussed Album of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. The Wire
    Jun 2, 2017
    80
    The whole album sounds less written, performed and recorded, more like it’s streaming directly from Thundercat’s brain to the listener’s. [Apr 2017, p.57]
  2. Record Collector
    Mar 31, 2017
    80
    It’s a witty, endlessly creative look at where we are, where music is right now and what’s next; it all makes for essential listening.
    Read full review
  3. Mixmag
    Mar 31, 2017
    70
    There’s head-melting brilliance here, but he makes you work for it.
    Read full review
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