Neurotica (Loose Rap Album Review): An Exploration of the Human Nervous System Through Raw, Electronic Dance Music

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1 — ‘Your’

Loose Rap begins ‘Neurotica’ with subtly reverbed and filtered synth keys then brings in wonderfully built drums which are flavored perfectly by their sultry, yet sensitive voice. There is so much power inherent in the title of the first track alone: ‘Your’. The focus is upon the being of desire, and this type of intensity is felt deeply in the syncopation of the drums and harmonization of the synth which almost sounds middle eastern. The vibe is of a private hookah lounge, where eyes meet, and souls are embraced. Every time ‘it’s your love’ is sang (but really almost gasped) the drums knock, and Loose Rap answers. The end adds a gorgeous saw-like vocoder effect that does a beautifully psychedelic job of fading the song out. Then, the drums are isolated along with softer synths, ending in the essence of technological acquiescence.

2 — ‘Gimme a Show’

Coming in with some more dance-worthy vibrations, Rap’s voice feels more nonchalant in this song, and it is as if, now they’ve got in their possession the ‘you’ who ‘Your’ belonged to, so they can relax, but it is this very relaxation that allows for the saws and humming distorted chiptunes to go just a little bit harder. The percussion feels… I don’t want to say ‘humble’, but I’d say authentic. It is balanced well and the ‘RIDE MY FACE…’ part slaps with command and complete control of the body and domination in the most natural sense.

3 — ‘Goin’ Crazy’

The strings here are such an interestingly quirky way to begin this song. There is a feeling of this far-off sense of sorrow that is met with the reconciliation of ‘taaake control…’. In ‘Gimme a Show’, we had the dominance, and here we have the submission meeting in equilibrium. The vocals are beautifully raw and expressive, leaking not desperation, but a complete sense of fantastical whimsy, even, that has been sparked by the lover in rhythm. The vocals come in with the lower section of synths drops wonderfully by echoing and dropping in suddenly. The drums are the perfect distance from the rest of the mix. This song shows me complete surrender to the lover. And it’s lovely to hear the strings from the beginning come back so eloquently. The falsetto reminds me of the 90’s rave vibe… sex, drugs, and dance. The way that the bass drums begin to slightly pulsate is tribal, and calls to the deepest parts of human expression. The vocals are sung in such a way that makes it feel like Rap’s mouth is drawling from the drug that is Neurotica. The way the vocals are in the background at the end gives the instrumentation it’s chance to shine as is, and the higher pitched keys sprinkled right before the tracks isolate the synth is beautiful. I definitely feel the rawness of these tracks.

4 — ‘Full of Daisies’

I can already tell this gon’ be one of my favorites. This shit go hard. Ooooh. The lyrics are hard as fuck, and then when that electronix comes in, it’s intense. This is the type of music you can see. The pulsating drums kind of tease me, with the ways in which they hold back just slightly. I LOVE the empty space in this one, I love the space because it leaves room for the imagination to fill in certain areas. And of course, the breathy ‘take me there…’ which drops into the poetic symphony paired with the instrumentation… leading into these higher strings, is wonderful. Also love how ‘Daisies’ rhymes with the previous track ‘Crazy’.

5 — ‘Can’t Get Away (The Rain)’

It definitely does feel like rain to me. Another fave for me I can already tell. The tracks all fit really well together in a poetic epic sort of way… can’t have daisies without rain, right? Love how the vocals start so diminished at ‘across the room’ as if murmuring… ‘you notice me… across the room’ reminds me of innocent love at prom night. Loving the way, ‘it makes me bloom’ brings us to the theme of the daisies on the previous track too. The backup vocals are like the soil building up the daisies from below, echoing the nutrients Loose Rap receives from the love of the woman in adoration. The piano on the outro is also very classy… almost even a vibe of Japanese lo-fi type jazz. Love the silence at the end too. Appropriate for both this song, and the intensity of the next-

6 — ‘Set It Off’

This one is like the daisies are now overtaking the field of green grass. The drums are fire. I love the difference that the filter makes… it definitely shows emphasis on the risen mood. I also love the high hat section brought in so steady and consistent… you can’t ignore it. Then those drums that almost sound like orchestral hits are perfect for this type of groove. Yeah, then the risers, of course are marvelous, and the ‘moshpit’ teases me. This whole EP likes to tease me to be honest. Dope vocal effects too and then the layering is mint with the risers on that second rise.

7 — ‘Insecure (feat. MikeTheDawn)’

The deep drowning here is pretty. Like it’s drowning you with the feeling of the song in a pretty way, with the insecurities in a beautifully vulnerable way. As if the daisies from before are being drowned out by the rain. Then when that lower section is taken out, it really mirrors the title of the song by showing the higher more delicate sections. Did the daisies survive? Are they still as ‘pretty’ ? The backup vocals sound like instruments. I always love when the voice is used as an instrument. MikeTheDawn comes in nicely too. The way his feature leads to Loose Rap’s voice again with the effects is fire. The beat slaps too at that section, right before the drums come back a little bit.

8 — ‘Misunderstood’

If the previous song was the embodiment of insecurities, then this one feels like looking back at them and honoring them. Honoring being misunderstood, and the certain sense of elusive rarity in it. Or even misunderstanding your own strength. The daisies will rise agin, they will not be wilted forever. The drums are warm and ‘homey’, like a turtle, who always has his home upon his back. But also there’s this paradox in ‘i just wanna go now, go now, go now…’ as if the artist ‘don’t really know how, know how, know how,’ because they really do know how but they think they don’t because they do so well. The swelling emphasized at the end here is nice too, and the outro with these hookah lounge, Arabic type drums are pristine.

9 — ‘Potions’

Another fave, I already know within the first second, lol. The ticking of the hats is just high enough in my ears register and yet not too high. The bass is really nice throughout this one too. The consistency of those harmonic synth keys is very reassuring too and complements the dynamics of Rap’s voice. The emotion they express in their vocal cords is one of if not my favorite part of all the songs. The feeling of ‘just being over the edge’.

10 — ‘Love Junki3’

Juicy! Lol. Yeah and just got even juicier. What can I say… lmao. FAVE. The vocals are fire and right up in my ear. This is the perfect ending song because it takes every previous emotion and puts it all in one song. What else can I say? A great first EP, and I as a listener, am looking forward to the evolutive glory of Loose Rap’s musical career!