| |
The most powerful non-chemical flashbacks are induced by
memories of adolescence—the time of your frst kiss, frst spliff, and
those sounds that irrevocably alter the course of your life.
Calvin Valentine’s “Eugene” captures the intensity of those feelings.
Released on EYRST, it is a love story to the artist’s Oregon hometown,
replete with swooning strings, angelic melodies, extraterrestrial
talkboxes, and evocative nostalgia. It’s rap, it’s R&B, it’s soul. It’s
one of those indefnable albums that allows you to understand why
genre is obsolete. It’s music—a timeless project from an artist who is
acutely aware of how much time has elapsed.
On Eugene, Valentine managed to do one of the most difficult
things in music: write affecting love songs without coming off sappy,
conveying the madness that sweeps you during the frst ?ush of
teenage romance without losing a hip-hop edge.
Valentine’s Eugene is a stark declaration of a singular talent. It’s the
work of an artist fercely aware of what made him, who he is, what
he loves, and where he’s going. This is an album about growing older
and falling in love with different things but never forgetting those
memories, never forgetting the place you’ll always call home. |
|
Wish List
