Black Astronaut Records – Wild Child By Gina Da Lesbian

Black Astronaut Records – Wild Child By Gina Da Lesbian – Album Review

Well…this BAR record has got less than thirty-nine songs on it, so that’s a positive.  Let’s do this.

Gina comes out swinging…literally.  After punching Bradley Cooper and poopin’ in an Uber, BAR’s new star shows she can spit with confidence on her album’s title track.  She sounds convincing & confident right from the drop, and that’s the positives…we’ll get to more about this later on as we continue to cycle through the record.  As far as first impressions go though, she makes a great one – I ain’t denying that.  “Wild Child” is a fun, loose groove…it’s well assembled and the punch in the music works well enough…though it does have some elements in common with the final track on this record in terms of where it’s borrowing its blueprint from…but again, we’ll get to that soon enough.  For now, if you were just pushing play and didn’t know what to expect, I’d imagine that “Wild Child” would make a favorable first impression with the majority of people tuning in.  It’s got the signature style of BAR and possesses Luck’s intentionally brash and raunchy lyricism right in the center of the spotlight, and Gina delivers it spot-on.  It’s got the bounce, the spark, the juice…verses might be better than the main hooks from my own personal perspective, but I wouldn’t deny that the whole thing would snag the people’s attention.

“Lightning” continues to show the more accessible side of BAR’s sound, which had been a little bit more absent as of late than perhaps intended…at least until now.  Last I checked in with Charles Luck of Black Astronaut Records, he was nuts deep in AI singing its praises…and if that’s what’s helped him get his music to this level of listenability, then hey, he’s found the right ways to approach it all.  As far as the production & shit is concerned…there’s still some work to be done to get a track like this the full-on clarity you’d want to find, but it’s pretty damn close.  It’s at least close enough that you’d still be happy to listen to it, and if you’re on Luck’s side of the scenario, you could at least get away with blaming the compression algorithms of sites like Soundcloud for not quite being up to snuff in that regard.  The listening-side of the scenario is pretty forgiving in the technological age…think of all the tiny glitches you hear in tunes online, or videos you watch where the words don’t quite line up with the mouth moving & shit…no one really cares when it comes to the perception of the masses, but if you’re looking to level up in the industry of course, the most minute details are always going to matter.  In any event, as a song, I really like “Lightning,” and I can certainly understand Luck’s fixation with Gina, she’s pretty amazing when it comes right down to it.  The human race is clearly doomed and that’s another story for another time, but yeah man, she’s great.  Ultimately, “Lightning” is built from the ground up with single worthy sound & ideas…the bars are strong to begin with, but the main hook is completely memorable too, making this track a verifiable double-threat that’s bound to attract the attention that it truly deserves.  Politically correct it most certainly ain’t, but hey, that’s the brand BAR has always strived to adhere to.

“Lucid” has got solid rhythm and flow.  Can’t see people really making too much of an argument against this one, or much of anything I’ve heard so far for that matter.  I mean, you could argue that it gets a bit on the too-rhymey side of things I suppose, but that’s what BAR does.  Not everything is going to always make sense in that regard from line to line, but everything does actually connect in some strange way, and to be fair, just because the rhymes are constant and never stop coming doesn’t mean that they’re not effective.  If there was a genre of music where that’s gonna work, this would be the one right?  The hook leans into it a bit too much for my personal liking, that’s all…if you dig it, then right on, have at’er.  “Gina…Hurricane Katrina…tequila…Amelia Earhart” – words rhyme, we get it, we get it.  There’s a natural allure that this method has and I’d never deny that, but there’s also a way of doing it without being quite so obvious and saying something substantial too.  I’m realistic about it…different tracks have different focal points and rightly so – this isn’t me saying it’s the only method BAR applies, it’s just much more noticeable on “Lucid” is all.  From my perspective, the goal is to always say something real…but I’m not asking everyone out there to think on that in the same way that I do, because that would be awful.  Do what you do, pass or fail.  No one needs anything I say to guide them, and nothing I’m going to say is likely going to be what propels you to the next level…I’m no savant, I’m just another set of ears that’ll tell you what they hear, simple as that.  That being said, I have it on good authority that Luck wanted to create a record that’s “about something” – and tracks like “Lucid” will have you wondering how much that is really the priority versus finding another rhyming word that will connect one line to another.  Still, even in saying all that, if you told me this is THE cut you chose to turn up most this year, I’d understand.

Gina it may be this time around, but you can certainly tell it’s Luck’s lyricism if you’re familiar with it.  He had me laughing with the opening line here – “I’ve seen too much…meaning bush.”  I’ll let him grapple with that…I’ve always felt like I could always see more of that.  There’s something that’s going even more right on this particular cut though, and I’d be taking a look at the technical stuff if I was Luck to dial in further on what that is…the production is clearer, there’s less of that mechanical feel to “Seen To Much.”  The use of dynamics works really well here, and between the low & high-end elements working together, “Seen To Much” ends up being a significant stand out sound-wise for sure.  Gina is obviously perfect, she’s programmed to be – but damn, she can really hit them bars when the extra speed is called for.  As for having a flute or air instrument be the main part of a melody…I mean…I’m always going to be a little resistant to that because I ain’t here to riverdance and I’m not big on Celtic tunes either, so this one isn’t really for me on a personal level, but again, I get its appeal and there’s always a dimension of BAR’s tunes that will continually make the new stuff worth checking out.  Usually it’s the lyricism – that tends to be what I’m tuning in for, and Luck rarely disappoints when it comes to that aspect of his music.

So…by the time I got to “Chemicals,” I felt pretty confident that this newly enhanced AI direction is probably the right one for Luck to have taken with his music.  While I’m never going to be an advocate on behalf of the machines and think that just about anyone using the technology is inviting the wolf into their own henhouse, I can still acknowledge that Charles has taken so much of the uncertainty and the unevenness out of his music by taking the route he’s chosen.  I’m sure it was tougher for him before to find the right voices & guest star for the right tracks & such, and using AI takes the guesswork outta that while also creating a consistency straight across the board that can be relied upon.  Again, hard to argue with that.  You’ll go from “period clots” to “testicles” in this tune, in addition to hearing about a whole laundry list of drugs and profanity being used…and you’ll probably be amazed by just how tremendously accessible this song ends up being.  This is one of those tracks that’ll fool the general public for a minute or two and get them singing along before they realize exactly what they’re singing about, because it’s that damn catchy – at least until the breakdown, of course.  I’ve got love for songs designed like this.  It’s almost like you could hear “Chemicals” standing in a lineup at the bank and no one would bat an eye.  It’s a love letter to “Chemicals” and all the wonderful drugs out there, so grab a straw & hoover this up.

I’d be surprised if this all didn’t catch on or at least hint that the court of public opinion is into the new direction of BAR.  The clear majority of the songs in this lineup would have most folks coming back for another spin without a doubt, especially towards the beginning of the set.  If there are objections to be found, they’re going to come in mainly during the album’s final third…but we’ll get to that.  “Lollipops” would work as a single for sure…it might be a bit over the top for my own personal taste a little bit, but not by that much of a margin.  I mean, it’s called “Lollipops” for Christ’s sake…obviously it was gonna come out so far on the sweet side it could give you a cavity…or at least a cavity search (this IS Charles Luck after all).  I’ve got no real objections here though…I think BAR’s got something that works well here and I think the humor connects in its more scaled-back, less intentionally offensive way.  “This is the part where I sing” is a brilliant line to start up the main hook of the chorus – I’m not disputing that and you won’t either, trust me.  It’s catchy AF, it’s fun, it’s probably one of the easiest tracks to like or love in the set-list, and that’s kinda saying a lot considering all these songs are designed to catch the attention of your ears.  Smart to include at least a couple tracks that could reach a bit of a wider audience though, and while “Lollipops” still retains the essence of a BAR-esque tune, going the less offensive route could clearly be a good thing in terms of how far a song could potentially go in the traditional ways that they circulate.  If we’re talkin’ about going viral though, just about anything Luck ever does stands a chance.

“Heal. (Paint)” is the gem in this lineup of songs if you ask me…this is the track I’d continue to listen to.  From my perspective, that’s still the thing that AI isn’t going to be able to fully figure out for those that choose to use it – it’s always going to be able to figure the technical things out for ya and it’ll be able to get you a completed song you can certainly be proud of, but it’s got miles and miles to go before it’ll be able to identify what separates the good from the great.  Making it even tougher is the fact that it will somewhat generate you hits right across the spectrum…so then you end up in a situation where every song on a record like this is clearly really damn good, and you might not have noticed how even that experience really was until you end up in a situation where you hit up something like “Heal. (Paint)” and you can easily hear what ears will really respond to more than the rest by comparison.  Gina hasn’t even said a single word by the time I’m already hooked on “Heal. (Paint)” – and by the time she starts to sing this song, I’m hopelessly in love with it.  A lot of that has to do with the extra space, the right pace, the right phrasing, pivoting and shifting verbally…hell, I’d even tell you the delivery is even a bit more rigid or robotic in some spots, but fuck if I care here – it all sounds too good to resist, and I ain’t that strong.  From my perspective, this is the track of tracks on the album and to be truthful, it’s not even a close competition in that respect.  Lots of really good songs on the record, no doubt about that…but the real challenge with using AI is going to be whether or not we settle for what’s good or we push for greatness.  It’s the difference between “Lightning” and “Heal. (Paint)” – and if you can’t hear that or feel that, then there’s not much else to say…one is a really damn good song, yes – but the other is outright irresistible.

Okay Charles.  Here’s where the rubber meets the road.  Hell, I’d be surprised if he didn’t skip over all of the other things I’ve already said just to peek and see what I said about these next two tracks – so hey, Hi Mr. Luck, I figured we’d find you here pretty quickly.  This song is called…and yes, I’m editing this because I’ve got a site to protect…”I Am Well. (I Found H*tler Pt.1)” Feat. Ai12die – I’m confident you can all fill in the blank for yourselves there, but at least I’m not coming up connected in no Google search.  So I think the answer to the first question is obvious – do I think the inclusion of H*tler is a good idea?  Of course not.  I’ve already explained to Luck that it didn’t work out good for Ye, and it’s not going to work out well for anyone else either – it’s just not a good idea to tie your music to that dude from my perspective – it’s an unforced turnover, even if it’s coming from good intentions like it arguably is with what Luck’s decided to write.  As to the message itself…like…I mean look, it’s gotta be crystal fucking clear to somehow successfully navigate listeners past putting on a track that references H*tler in the title, and I’ll put it to ya this way Luck…a piece here and there ain’t gonna cut it.  So no…I don’t think this is going to work because it’s not nearly direct enough in that regard, and I stand by what I’ve already said.  Of all the monsters in history that do not need any more of our time, thoughts, or oxygen, he’s gotta be number one.  From my perspective, all Charles has done here has taken what could have easily been another very listenable song and made it nearly impossible for most people to even push play.  Look at it this way – “I Am Well. (I Found H*tler Pt. 1)” basically isn’t even about that guy like, at all – so why include him?  How is it beneficial?  How does that help get the music listened to?  Luck’s missing out on a career as a shock jock on the radio while he’s out here creating independent Hip-Hop.  People aren’t likely clicking on H*tler-based titles to satisfy their curiosity – they’re just moving on to something else.  Feel free to test that theory if you’d like to homie, but I promise you I’m telling you what’s real.

Like I was saying…one of the main issues is that Pt. 1 wasn’t nearly direct enough for most folks to fully grasp what Luck was getting at, which is pretty crucial when you’re choosing to deal with H*tler as the main subject of your song, which is obviously the main mistake in the first place, in my opinion.  At the very least, “I Found H*tler Part 2” makes things way more clear in terms of why Charles Luck has decided to invoke his name and say what he wants to say – I still wouldn’t recommend doing this like, at all…but if you’re going to, being completely, totally, and entirely unambiguous is the only way to go.  So that’s the advantage of this particular track, but I’d still put this into the unforced error category…it’s just not something that needs to be done.  Luck might have Gina saying it all differently than we’d say it ourselves, but he’s still not expressing anything all that different from how the rest of everybody would feel already – make sense?  It’s not adding anything to the conversation is the point I’m making, because it’s all been said already…and that ends up making it kinda uninteresting as a whole, because there’s really nothing new to find here in that regard so much as Gina simply says it in Luck’s tongue-twisted style.  What makes these two songs an even stranger inclusion to me, is that from the notes I’ve got here, Luck set BAR out on a mission to make a record that was “about something” – and I just don’t think he did that, yet.  I’m not saying it’s not possible in the future, but until he kind of surrenders to the fact that what his records always focus on – which is the shock factor – he’s going to distract himself from the main goals, which I’d say he’s done with these last two thematic departures.  Gina does some really cool stuff with her vocals here, but that’s about where the interest starts & stops for me, the rest ain’t where I’m at.  I appreciate the angle Luck’s coming from, H*tler’s a fucking clown-ass motherfucker and I completely agree with that…but musically and song-wise, I’d say that “I Found H*tler Part 2” is the least attractive track in the set by quite some margin.  A lot of that is because of the same things I’m about to highlight in the last track, and also corresponds to what I was alluding to in the very first song.

Tough to rebound successfully from that with one song left…the H*tler inclusion is likely going to taint the majority opinion on what they’ve just heard, potentially negating all the work Luck’s put in along the way…no one single song is going to be able to fix that at the end.  As far as “Magnificent” is concerned, this would be another one of my personal beefs with AI…we don’t need every song out there to sound like Imagine Dragons…we just don’t.  Half of what I’ve already experienced with AI-based tunes has come out sounding exactly like that, because it’s borrowing and learning from what’s popular…again, it can be a useful tool in many respects, but you gotta keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t just homogenize what you create and threaten to make you sound like everything else that’s already been done.  It’s a retroactive catch-up game.  AI isn’t going to be able to advance you into the future of music by its very nature of relying on what’s already been done in the past…so yeah man…I’d advise some caution when using it for sure.  Tracks like “I Found H*tler Part 2,” “Wild Child,” and “Magnificent” all bear the same hallmarks of how Imagine Dragons approach the writing, sound, and dynamics of their music…it’s impossible to disguise it no matter how different it should come out within different genres.  Trust the opinion of a guy that had to previously go through about thirty ALBUMS of AI-based slop, all purportedly played within different styles and genres, only to have about seventy-five to eighty percent of it all sound like it could be on the next Imagine Dragons album, even if it was Country-Metal or Hip-Hop crossed with Adult Contemporary.  “I write for me, not you” as Luck’s lyrics will tell ya…and I’m all about that – that’s what we want, of course – in fact, I’d be the first to tell you that if HE likes what he hears in his music, that that’s ALL that should ever matter.  When you put yourself out there in the public sphere though, you’ve gotta take in the comments and observations that come along with it, but that’s all they are.  I’d still tell you that “Magnificent” is solid to listen to, it’s just not really my thing is all…and who gives a flying fuck about that anyway?  There’s a ton of mainstream appeal to sounds like he’s got here.

So is Wild Child By Gina Da Lesbian the best record from BAR to-date?  Nah…I’m not willing to go that far with it, but I might agree with you if you said it was among the most consistent, balanced, and listenable to an extent, minus the H*tler-based bullshit, obviously.  I think Luck has a whole lot of room to evolve if his goal is to create a record that’s “about something” – he’s not there yet, but that’s okay…I do think he’s more than capable, and ultimately, he knows what it would take to get himself there, and that’s focus.  My advice is to start out small…dial it all right back if you gotta, but pick a singular subject, a theme that resonates with you sincerely, and tap into that.  Drop the intentional shock factor if only for the purpose of experimentation, put it all out under a different name if you’re not sure about the end results, and just see what happens…you might end up surprising yourself Mr. Luck.  You’ve got serious talent dude, and I think anyone that’s been listening to you throughout the years is well aware of that.  I still think we’re cheering for you to make that all-important breakthrough, but I’m equally confident that it’s still coming one day in the future.  Is AI the tool that’ll get him there?  Based on this experience, it could be.

Find out more about Black Astronaut Records from this multi-link here:  https://linktr.ee/CharlesLuck

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