This past week, Friday afternoon, I found myself having to make an hour-long drive to Salem, Oregon. I had just figured out how to reconfigure my car stereo to boost the bass, and as it turns out, it couldn't have been at a more fortuitous moment. I realized that The Internet, the group behind "Ego Death" (one of my favorite 2015 releases, and for that matter, one of the best R&B records of this decade), had just put out their fourth album, entitled "Hive Mind". The singles were promising, and the album was about an hour long. It was like George Clinton himself blessed me. And my ears.
Without "Hive Mind", that car ride would have been the most boring drive of my life, stuck on I-5 in the midst of stop-and-go traffic. Instead, I probably lost weight from the neckbops, shoulder-shuffles and countless other involuntary body movements that this album induced in me. From the first moment on the album, with "Come Together" opening with one of the most infectious bass licks I've ever heard. This is the OPENING TRACK. I'm already more onboard than a cruise patron who really likes shuffleboard. Syd Bennett's silky vocals drizzle over Steve Lacy's punctuating refrain of "They gon' get us to come together" in a way that reminds me of those Häagen-Dazs ads that feel dirtier than they are. Looking back, that's probably my favorite track on the album. The stage is set, and trust me, this album lives up to its opening number.
The momentum continues with the album's two lead singles, "Roll (Burbank Funk)", a track that exudes swagger and really necessitates bell-bottoms for the full experience, and "Come Over", a slow-burn that exemplifies Syd's strengths as a vocalist. The album's mid-section keeps on rolling, from the fun and funny club excursion of "La Di Da" to the seething lurch of "Bravo" to the feels-shorter-than-it-actually-is double track that is "Next Time/Humble Pie".
"It Gets Better With Time" was when I seriously started realizing that this album was something fresh and new, featuring a poignant spoken word piece by Big Rube and a heartfelt outro delivered by the band's bassist, Patrick Paige II. Yes, it's an R&B album, which one may think is a worn-down and banal genre, but it has served as the headspace for some of the most imaginative and game-changing albums of the past few years, including (but not limited to) SZA's "Ctrl", Frank Ocean's "Blonde", Solange's "A Seat at the Table" and D'Angelo's "Black Messiah". They're not just creating pleasant soulful vibes, they're putting themselves wholly into their craft.
With that, the album goes into its final stretch with four entirely unique tracks. "Look What U Started" features a brilliant bassline along with Syd's classic side-eyed vocal delicacy. "Wanna Be" is a sweet little number that wastes no time and warms my heart. "Beat Goes On" is catchy from the get-go but then about two and a half minutes in, the whole instrumental slips out from underneath us and drops us into a deep-seated and absolutely bombastic percussive groove. "Hold On" is a fond farewell, a long goodbye that would maybe feel overlong if I truly did want this album to end, but that's nowhere close to true.
This album takes full advantage of the R&B form while allowing certain subversions for the group to make their own mark, which I certainly think The Internet is able to achieve if they keep putting out projects this consistent. Their particular brand of gossamer funk that's able to tug at the right heartstrings while urging one to tap their feet is really their own to perpetuate. From all indications, they aren't showing any signs of slowing down, especially with an album that proves so well why they are pushing the genre forward. When Childish Gambino dropped "Awaken, My Love!" in 2016, it was hailed as a proud nostalgia trip that indulged in 60's soul. I think The Internet has taken Gambino's feat and raised the stakes, by crafting a project that not only sounds nostalgic and vintage but also ahead of its time. "Hive Mind" is a must-listen, especially on a stereo that has good bass.
